muskellunge

American  

[muhs-kuh-luhnj] / ˈmʌs kəˌlʌndʒ /

noun

muskellunges plural

1. a large game fish, Esox masquinongy, of the pike family, found in the lakes and rivers of the eastern and central United States and and in Canada from Quebec to Manitoba.

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muskellunge British  

/ ˈmæskəˌlɒndʒ, ˈmʌskəˌlʌndʒ, ˈmæskəˌnɒndʒ /

noun

1. Often (informal) shortened to: musky.   muskie.  a large North American freshwater game fish, Esox masquinongy: family Esocidae (pikes, etc)

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• muskellunges
  plural
• muskellunge
  plural

Etymology

Origin of muskellunge

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; earlier muskinunge, masquenongez ( French spelling), etc., from Canadian French maskinongé from Ojibwe ma·skino·ŝe·, ma·ŝkino·ŝe· (equivalent to unattested Proto-Algonquian mya·ŝi “similar to, kind of” + *kenweŝye·wa “northern pike”)

Example Sentences

Now, there are more than 70 species including smallmouth bass, northern pike and muskellunge.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 17, 2022

Nolan Sprengeler caught a 55-pound muskellunge on Nov. 22 during a fishing trip to Millie Lacs Lake, according to a press release from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

From Fox News • Dec. 28, 2021

Based on popularity, the station narrowed the list down to the walleye, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill, channel catfish, crappie muskellunge and goldfish.

From Washington Times • Sep. 22, 2021

Clyde’s finds itself with too many airplanes, along with too many vintage golf trophies, ice skates, seltzer bottles, taxidermied muskellunge, fox hunting prints, papier-mâché parrots, hand-carved wooden pineapples and more.

From Washington Post • Jun. 20, 2017

Once a twenty pound muskellunge had been caught, and bass were plentiful.

From A Son of the City A Story of Boy Life by Seely, Herman Gastrell