quillback

[kwil-bak]

noun, plural quill·backs, (especially collectively) quill·back.

a carpsucker, Carpiodes cyprinus, inhabiting waters in the central and eastern U.S., having one ray of the dorsal fin greatly elongated.

Origin of quillback

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; quill + back¹

Also called quillback carpsucker.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018