Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that fishes, as a person or ship engaged in fishing.
  • noun A carnivorous mammal (Martes pennanti) of northern North America, having thick, dark-brown fur.
  • noun The fur of this animal.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One whose occupation or sport is the catching of fish; a fisherman.
  • noun The pekan, wejack, black-cat, or Pennant's marten, Mustela pennanti of Erxleben (1777), M. canadensis of Schreber (1778), the largest North American carnivorous quadruped of the family Mustelidæ and subfamily Mustelinæ with the exception of the wolverene: so called from its habit of catching fish.
  • noun plural In ornithology, specifically, the Piscatores, Totipalmati, or Steganopodes. E. Blyth.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who fishes.
  • noun (Zoöl.) A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela Canadensis); the pekan; the “black cat.”

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person or ship that is engaged in fishing.
  • noun A North American marten that has thick brown fur, Martes pennanti.
  • noun The fur of this animal.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone whose occupation is catching fish
  • noun large dark brown North American arboreal carnivorous mammal

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

fish +‎ -er

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word fisher.

Examples

  • "Why, because a fisher is a kind of a Spartan animal, while he is about his business."

    Melbourne House 1907

  • Geez, I am releasing fish and this fisher is eating them.

    Does Catch and Release Reduce Trespassing Offense? 2009

  • Geez, I am releasing fish and this fisher is eating them.

    Does Catch and Release Reduce Trespassing Offense? 2009

  • T'was a fisher from the upper midwestwho's wife had at least a double-D chestwhich to see in bikinicould grow a zucchiniin the lap of a 90-year-old guest

    Florida Keys Swordfish Limerick Contest John Merwin 2008

  • If any of you have read any of his interviews you'd see he'd like to do something other than a zombie peice but he's been just as jaded as carrie fisher is to star wars as he is to his zombies.

    George Romero’s Island Zombie Movie | /Film 2008

  • In fact, in the river/trout world, I've long thought a great fly fisher is way more deadly than the lure fisher.

    Can a Fly Rod Win a Bass Tournament? Tim Romano 2008

  • So far concerning him; but as regards the Caliph, Shaykh Ibrahim stared to him (and he still in fisher garb) and said, “O vilest of fishermen, thou hast brought us a couple of fish worth a score of half-dirhams,63 and hast gotten three dinars for them; and thinkest thou to take the damsel to boot?”

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • AnnaLynne will be the 'fisher' - an 'exceptional, unforgettable' beauty who uses her overwhelming class and charms to bait humans and hand deliver them to the rest of the Volturi vampires.

    Socialite Life 2009

  • AnnaLynne will be the 'fisher' - an 'exceptional, unforgettable' beauty who uses her overwhelming class and charms to bait humans and hand deliver them to the rest of the Volturi vampires.

    Socialite Life 2009

  • Did not read all the ay to end, but this is really called a fisher cat…a wild jungle cat that lives in S.

    catfish - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • NYT: 'Sinewy, with bushy tails and beady eyes, fishers weigh 5 to 15 pounds and live on land and in trees. They are mainly carnivorous, typically eating squirrels, mice, voles and other small animals, as well as nuts and seeds. Fishers are also one of the porcupine’s few enemies, killing it by attacking its snout and flipping it on its back.'

    June 11, 2008

  • But I'll bet they don't fly like goats do.

    June 12, 2008

  • 1) It is interesting to compare the article below with this 2011 blog post by mammal zoologist Roland Kays.

    2) Etymology (for the animal):

    The name implies a diet of fish yet it seldom dines on aquatic organisms. Early Dutch settlers noted its similarity to the European polecat (Mustela putorius). Fitchet is a name derived from the Dutch word visse which means 'nasty'. In the French language, the pelt of a polecat is called fiche or fichet.

    (Source: Wikipedia)

    April 30, 2011