cusk

American  

[kuhsk] / kʌsk /

noun

plural

cusks,

plural

cusk

1. an edible marine fish, Brosme brosme, of North Atlantic coastal waters.

2. the burbot.

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cusk British  

/ kʌsk /

noun

1. a gadoid food fish, Brosmius brosme, of northern coastal waters, having a single long dorsal fin aslo called torsk

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Etymology

Origin of cusk

An Americanism dating back to 1610–20; probably a variant of tusk, a kind of fish, from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian tosk, variant of torsk, cognate with Old Norse thorskr “cod, codfish”

Example Sentences

When she first saw this gargoyle cusk eel in Florida, Mears mistook it for a bony-eared assfish—another type of cusk eel.

From Scientific American • Jun. 8, 2022

Mike and I groan, thinking back on all the time and energy we’ve wasted chipping out iced-over cusk lines with crowbars.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2020

The work on cod is finished, data on haddock is being analyzed and the work on cusk will continue until 2017, Mandelman said.

From Washington Times • Dec. 21, 2015

The deep dwelling cusk eels, Bassozetus sp, grow up to one metre in length.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2014

Haddock are found in the deep water in the spring: cusk all the year in deep water, together with hake in summer, also on the muddy bottom in deep water.

From Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine by Rich, Walter H.