Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

weakfish

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.21 in modern English

Syllables: weak-fish
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several species of game fish, of the genus Cynoscion, found in North American waters.

Example Sentences

"Weakfishes have no adipose fin, such as fresh-water trouts possess:[…]."
"Larger fish tend to migrate farther north than smaller ones; thus, the New England weakfish fishery may possess a higher percentage of large individuals than is characteristic of the coastwide fishery. Weakfish tend to move about in schools of similar-sized individuals."
"The weakfish is referred to as a gray trout from Maryland south, mainly to separate it from the spotted seatrout (p. 36), which is found in the southern portion of the weakfish’s range. Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) look very much like a freshwater trout, although they exhibit few characteristics of this species."
"The weakfish is also a member of the Sciaenidae family, and its name refers to the tender, easily torn membrane in the fish's mouth, not its fighting ability."

Etymology

Calque from Dutch weekvis, weekvisch (“weakfish”), equivalent to weak + fish, because of its tender mouth.

Inflected Forms

weakfishes (plural)

Derived Forms

weakfishing

Synonyms

squeteague cynoscion regalis

Questions

What does weakfish mean?: Any of several species of game fish, of the genus Cynoscion, found in North American waters.
Where does weakfish come from?: Calque from Dutch weekvis, weekvisch (“weakfish”), equivalent to weak + fish, because of its tender mouth.

How to pronounce weakfish

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “weakfish”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “weakfish”.
Repeat and practice — Say “weakfish” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.