dace

[ deys ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) dace, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) dac·es.
  1. a small, freshwater cyprinoid fish, Leuciscus leuciscus, of Europe, having a stout, fusiform body.

  2. any of several similar or related fishes of the U.S.

Origin of dace

1
1400–50; late Middle English darce, darse<Old French dars<Late Latin darsus

Words Nearby dace

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dace in a sentence

  • Some of us thought they were making up to one another before Sir dace died—when Ben was attending him.

  • He appeared to be cleaving a bunch of reeds to pounce on a dace, just as he had done once too often on that memorable day.

    The Yeoman Adventurer | George W. Gough
  • The Chub always liking their fly tied large, the dace and Roach preferring theirs small.

  • Lasche—a small fish corresponding to our dace, and abundant in the Lake of Trasimene.

    The Story of Perugia | Margaret Symonds
  • Well, one Sunday morning he was fishing as usual, and not a salmon had risen to him, his basket was bare of roach or dace.

British Dictionary definitions for dace

dace

/ (deɪs) /


nounplural dace or daces
  1. a European freshwater cyprinid fish, Leuciscus leuciscus, with a slender bluish-green body

  2. any of various similar fishes

Origin of dace

1
C15: from Old French dars dart, probably referring to its swiftness

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