candlefish

American  

[kan-dl-fish] / ˈkæn dlˌfɪʃ /

noun

candlefish, plural candlefishes plural

1. Also called eulachon.  a small, edible, smeltlike fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, of northwestern coastal waters of North America, being so oily that when dried it can be used as a candle.

2. sablefish.

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candlefish British  

/ ˈkændəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. Also called: eulachon.  a salmonoid food fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, that occurs in the N Pacific and has oily flesh

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• candlefish
  plural
• candlefishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of candlefish

First recorded in 1880–85; candle + fish

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

candlefish

Marine creatures such as eulachon, or candlefish, and Dungeness crab have been documented in the estuary for the first time in decades.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 5, 2014

An avid fisherman since his youth, when he was known to skip school to dip-net candlefish in Sinclair Inlet and his first Boy Scout merit badge was for fishing.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2012

Go now, because there's no telling how long they'll stick around in one particular spot as these hungry fish will follow schools of herring and candlefish.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2012

Perhaps the smell of candlefish fat, ubiquitous in later Northwest Coast Indian cookery, even then hovered over the first visitors’ fires.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

It was a string of herring eggs and six candlefish the size of my little finger.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell