muskellunge

[ muhs-kuh-luhnj ]

noun,plural mus·kel·lung·es, (especially collectively) mus·kel·lunge.

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.

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”)

Also called muskie .

Also maskalonge, maskinonge, muskallonge.

Words Nearby muskellunge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use muskellunge in a sentence

In an hour Ethan returned to the shore with a large muskellunge and half a dozen large lake trout.
Hope and Have | Oliver Optic
Once a twenty pound muskellunge had been caught, and bass were plentiful.
A Son of the City | Herman Gastrell Seely

British Dictionary definitions for muskellunge

muskellunge

maskalonge (ˈmæskəˌlɒndʒ) or maskanonge (ˈmæskəˌnɒndʒ)

/ (ˈmʌskəˌlʌndʒ) /

nounplural -lunges, -longes, -nonges, -lunge, -longe or -nonge

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

Origin of muskellunge

C18: maskinunga, of Algonquian origin; compare Ojibwa mashkinonge big pike

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

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