silverfish
Noun: 1. A silvery variety of the goldfish (Carassius auratus): A type of ornamental fish, a color variant of the common goldfish, characterized by its metallic, silvery scales. 2. A silver-grey wingless insect (Lepisma saccharina): A small, primitive, wingless insect with a silvery-grey, carrot-shaped body and three long tail filaments, commonly found indoors where it feeds on materials containing polysaccharides, such as book bindings, wallpaper paste, and starched clothing.
- Noun (Fish):
- The pond was stocked with shimmering silverfish and orange comets.
- Unlike the typical goldfish, the silverfish has a beautiful metallic sheen.
- Noun (Insect):
- We found a silverfish scurrying under the old bookcase.
- To prevent damage, store valuable books in a dry place to avoid silverfish.
- As a collective noun: The word can be used in a plural sense to refer to multiple insects of this type.
- The damp basement was infested with silverfish.
- Bristletail: A common name for insects in the order Zygentoma, which includes the silverfish. It refers to the three long, bristle-like appendages at the rear.
- Firebrat (Thermobia domestica): A closely related insect that prefers warm, dry areas like furnaces and boilers, as opposed to the cooler, damp habitats favored by the silverfish.
- For the insect: Fishmoth, carpet shark (informal).
- For the fish: Silver goldfish, metallic goldfish.
The two meanings of "silverfish" are homonyms—they are spelled and pronounced identically but refer to completely different organisms (a fish and an insect). Context is always required to determine which meaning is intended. The insect meaning is far more common in everyday modern English.
- a silvery variety of Carassius auratus
- silver-grey wingless insect found in houses feeding on book bindings and starched clothing