minnow
Any of certain small fishAny of certain small fish.
» I fish for trout with minnows.
Ich fische Forelle mit Elritzen.
Meaning
9 sensesAny of certain small fish.
very small European freshwater fish common in gravelly streams
Any of certain small fish.
The common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), a small freshwater fish of the carp family Cyprinidae which has a green back with black elongated blotches, commonly swimming in large shoals.
Bitterfisch, Elritze, Maipiere
голья́нgolʹján
Chiefly with a qualifying word: That fish or any of a number of other (small) fish from the family Cyprinidae.
(US)Any of those fish or other small (usually freshwater) fish from other families.
(Australia, New Zealand)Synonym of galaxiid (“any member of the family Galaxiidae of mostly small freshwater fish of the Southern Hemisphere”); specifically, the common galaxias, inanga, or jollytail (Galaxias maculatus).
(UK, regional)Synonym of stickleback (family Gasterosteidae).
(figuratively)A person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value.
A person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value.
(especially, figuratively)A team that is considered less skilled and not expected to win many, if any, of its matches.
An artificial bait in the form of a small fish.
Examples
5 sentencesI fish for trout with minnows.
deIch fische Forelle mit Elritzen. — christian63
Tom is a minnow in the Boston academic community.
Sometimes I like to feed leftover breadcrumbs to the minnows in the neighborhood pond.
The opposition minnows fought a desperate rearguard action in defence of their one-goal lead.
deDie kleinen Fische der generischen Mannschaft verteidigten in erbitterter Verteidigungsschlacht ihren Eintorvorsprung. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Europe is a minnow when it comes to the chips that are vital to high-end manufacturing.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 1
Origin
The noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) coThe noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus); or stickleback (possibly the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus)”), from Old English *mynwe, an oblique form of *mynu, a variant of myne (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small”). Possibly influenced by Anglo-Norman menu (“small”) and Old French menu (“small”), and English minim (“anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: minnowsSynonyms
34 synonyms- very small European freshwater fish common in gravelly streams:Phoxinus phoxinus