hagfish

[ hag-fish ]

/ ˈhægˌfɪʃ /

noun, plural (especially collectively) hag·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) hag·fish·es.

any eellike, marine cyclostome of the order Myxiniformes, having undeveloped eyes, a barbel-rimmed, circular mouth, and horny teeth for boring into the flesh of fishes to feed on their interior parts.

Nearby words

hagdon, hageman factor, hagen, hagen, walter, hagerstown, hagfish, haggada, haggadah, haggaday, haggadic, haggadist

Origin of hagfish

First recorded in 1605–15; hag¹ + fish

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

Examples from the Web for hagfish

The "oral cirri" suggest somewhat the barbels of the nose and mouth of a hagfish.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
In the California hagfish, Polistotrema stouti, great numbers of these eggs have been found in the stomachs of the males.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
In gill-nets in Monterey Bay great mischief is done by hagfish (Polistotrema stouti).
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for hagfish

hagfish

/ (ˈhæɡˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

any eel-like marine cyclostome vertebrate of the family Myxinidae, having a round sucking mouth and feeding on the tissues of other animals and on dead organic materialOften shortened to: hag

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