English Explanatory Dictionary

eel

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any freshwater fish of the order Anguilliformes, which are elongated and resemble snakes.
  2. A European eel (Anguilla anguilla).
  3. Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:
  4. Other ray-finned fishes:
  5. An electric eel (any knifefish of the genus Electrophorus)
  6. In the order Synbranchiformes:
  7. A swamp eel (any fish in the family Synbranchidae).
  8. An earthworm eel, also called the spineless eel (any fish in the family Chaudhuriidae).
  9. A spiny eel (any fish in the family Mastacembelidae).
  10. A deep-sea spiny eel (any fish in the family Notacanthidae).
  11. Certain amphibians:
  12. A conger eel, also called the Congo eel, amphiuma, and Congo snake (any salamander of the genus Amphiuma).
verb
  1. To fish for eels.
  2. To move with a sinuous motion like that of an eel.
name
  1. A township in Cass County, Indiana, United States, probably named after the Eel River.

Pronunciation

ēl /iːl/ En-us-eel.ogg

Word forms

eel eels eeling eeled

Etymology

From Middle English el (“eel”), from Old English ǣl (“eel”), from Proto-West Germanic *āl (“eel”), from Proto-Germanic *ēlaz (“eel”), which is of unknown origin. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian iel (“eel”), Dutch aal (“eel”), German Low German Aal, Ool (“eel”), German Aal (“eel”), Danish, Norn, Norwegian, and Swedish ål (“eel”), Faroese állur, álur (“eel”), Icelandic áll (“eel”).

Related words

elver

Derived words

African eel African longfin eel African mottled eel African spoon-nose eel Asian swamp eel bastard eel conger eel Congo eel cusk-eel cutthroat eel deep-sea spiny eel deepwater big-eyed worm eel duckbill eel eel basket eel-blenny eelblenny eelboat eelbuck eeler eelery eelfare eelfish eelgrass eelish eellike eel-like Eel Pie Island eelpot eelpout eel-pout Eel River eelskin eelspear eelworm eely electric eel European eel fire eel garden eel glass eel green eel gulper eel Japanese eel lamper eel longfin eel longneck eel marbled eel Mauritanian shortface eel monkeyface eel moray eel mud eel neck eel pelican eel pike eel ramper eel rock eel rubber eel sand eel sawtooth eel sea eel
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