Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A long cylindrical freshwater fish (Electrophorus electricus) of northern South America, having organs that produce a powerful electric discharge, used to stun prey and for defense.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Electrophorus electricus , a species of fish resembling aneel (not related) that is capable of generating powerfulelectric shocks .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun eel-shaped freshwater fish of South America having electric organs in its body
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treeseed commented on the word electric eel
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1794
: a large eel-shaped fish (Electrophorus electricus) of the Orinoco and Amazon basins that is capable of giving a severe shock with its electric organs
Despite its name it is not an eel at all but rather a knifefish.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
bilby commented on the word electric eel
Wonder what these were called before electricity was invented.
December 14, 2020
ry commented on the word electric eel
numb-eel, apparently, courtesy Aphra Behn. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23179031/
December 14, 2020
bilby commented on the word electric eel
Ooh, very good, thanks ry!
December 14, 2020