numbfish

[nuhm-fish]

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

an electric ray, so called from its power of numbing its prey by means of electric shocks.

Origin of numbfish

First recorded in 1705–15; numb + fish

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

British Dictionary definitions for numbfish

numbfish

noun plural -fish or -fishes

any of several electric rays, such as Narcine tasmaniensis (Australian numbfish)

Word Origin for numbfish

C18: so called because it numbs its victims

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