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catadromous

[kuh-tad-ruh-muh s]
adjective
  1. (of fish) migrating from fresh water to spawn in the sea, as eels of the genus Anguilla (distinguished from anadromous).
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Origin of catadromous

First recorded in 1880–85; cata- + -dromous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for catadromous

Historical Examples

  • Catadromous, kat-ad′rom-us, adj. of fishes, descending periodically for spawning to the lower parts of a river or to the sea.

    Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)

    Various

  • Of the catadromous fishes there is a single example in our waters--the common eel.

    Boy Scouts Handbook

    Boy Scouts of America

British Dictionary definitions for catadromous

catadromous

adjective
  1. (of fishes such as the eel) migrating down rivers to the sea in order to breedCompare anadromous
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Word Origin

C19: from Greek katadromos, from kata- down + dromos, from dremein to run
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012