> Dear NANFA-members,
>
> This message is somewhat off-topic. Please delete if not interested in
> strange words and their meanings.
>
> I am on the a-word-a-day mailing list. This past week's theme was words
> based on fish names. These words have alternative meanings as well. I
> thought that you folks may find these words interesting.
>
> http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives/0602
>
> Summary:
> minnow (MIN-o) noun
>
> 1. Any of the small freshwater fish of the Cyprinidae family.
>
> 2. Someone or something considered insignificant.
>
> [Ultimately from Old High German munewa, a kind of fish, via Old English
> and Middle English.]
> gudgeon (GUJ-uhn) noun
>
> 1. A small European fresh-water fish (Gobio gobio) or any of the
> related fishes, often used as bait.
>
> 2. A gullible person.
>
> 3. A bait.
>
> [From Latin gobion, variant of gobius, via Old French and Middle English.]
> gudgeon (GUJ-uhn) noun
>
> A pivot, usually made of metal, at the end of a beam, axle, etc., on
> which a wheel or a similar device turns.
>
> [From Middle English gudyon, from Old French goujon.]
> remora (REM-uhr-ah) noun
>
> 1. Any of several fishes of the family Echeneididae that have a dorsal
> fin modified in the shape of a suction disk that they use to attach
> to a larger fish, sea-turtles, or ships.
> Also called sharksucker or suckerfish.
>
> 2. Hindrance, drag.
>
> [From Latin, literally delay, from remorari (to linger, delay), from re-
> + morari (to delay), from mora (delay).]
>
> "Demur" and "moratorium" are other words that share the same root as
> remora. They all involve the idea of delay. Remora got their name from the
> belief that they slowed ships down by attaching themselves to the hull.
> Remora's suction power is so strong that, in some parts of the world,
> lines are attached to their tails and lowered into the water to fish for
> sea turtles. Remora eat scraps from the fish they attach to. But they
> don't just get a free ride and free food in this way. It's a truly
> symbiotic relationship as they, in turn, remove parasites from their
> bigger buddies.
>
> Here are a few pictures:
> http://www.oceanlight.com/html/manta_birostris.html
>
http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues98/jul98/remora_jpg.html
> inconnu (in-kuh-NOO) noun
>
> 1. A whitefish (Stenodus leucichthys) found in arctic and subarctic.
> Also known as sheefish.
>
> 2. A stranger.
>
> [From French, literally unknown. In 1789, explorer Alexander Mackenzie and
> his crew traveled the waterways of Northwest territories in search of a
> Northwest passage. They came across an unknown fish and the
> French-Canadian voyageurs who were part of his crew called it inconnu.]
> tope (tope) verb tr., intr.
>
> To drink (liquor) habitually and copiously.
>
> [Of uncertain origin, perhaps from obsolete top (to drink) as in "top
> off".]
>
> tope (tope) noun
>
> A small shark with a long snout (Galeorhinus galeus).
>
> [Of unknown origin.]
>
> tope (tope) noun
>
> A usually dome-shaped monument built by Buddhists. Also known as a
> stupa.
>
> [From Hindi top, from Prakrit or Pali thupo, from Sanskrit stupa (head).
>
> Some pictures of, tope, the fish:
> http://www.seatrek.org/curriculum/reference/species/tope.htm
> tope, the building:
> http://www.buddhanet.net/sanchi.htm
>
> --
> Sajjad Lateef email: sajjad <at> acm.org
> Chicago, IL web: http://www.lateef.org/sajjad/
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