dragonet

[drag-uh-net, drag-uh-nit]

noun

any fish of the genus Callionymus, the species of which are small and usually brightly colored.

Origin of dragonet

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French; see dragon, -et

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dragonet

Historical Examples of dragonet

A name in the Frith of Forth for the dragonet or gowdie (Callionymus lyra).
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
Dragonet, the common name of small marine fishes constituting a special family (Callionymid).
The New Gresham Encyclopedia
Various
As to the dragonet, he stuck out his nose, fixed his eyes, and fell a-thinking.
Brothers of Pity and Other Tales of Beasts and Men
Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing

British Dictionary definitions for dragonet

dragonet

noun

any small spiny-finned fish of the family Callionymidae, having a flat head and a slender tapering brightly coloured body and living at the bottom of shallow seas

Word Origin for dragonet

C14 (meaning: small dragon): from French; applied to fish C18

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