Dictionary

blackfish en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈblakfɪʃ/ (UK)

Etymology

From black + fish.

Meanings

1. (Scotland) An Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, especially a female after spawning.
2. Any of various dark-colored fish of the Old World, especially the rudderfish (Centrolophus niger).
3. Any of various dark-colored toothed whales. ▸ The pilot whale (Globicephalus spp.).
   • The members of this genus, known as ‘Ca’ing Whales,’ ‘Pilot Whales,’ and ‘Blackfish,’ are found in all seas and grow to a considerable size. 1891, William Thomas Blanford, Mammalia, Volume 8, Taylor & Francis, page 577:
   • Others, like Globicephala (pothead, blackfish, pilot whale), have distinct forms separated by apparent marine barriers which we cannot detect, except to a degree by the distribution of the animals. 1970, The Encyclopedia of the Biological Sciences, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, page 159:
4. Any of various dark-colored toothed whales. ▸ The killer whale (Orcinus orca).
   • The poem evidently describes a day's fishing—the going out early in the morning, the rising tide, the sounds of early morning, the hooking of a blackfish (orca), and a sea bass, judging by some of the lines. 1905, Forest and Stream, Volume 64, Forest and Stream Publishing Company, page 477:
   • A large skeleton of the blackfish (Orca sp.) has been prepared, articulated and mounted by the Curator, Mr. Roblin, and is a great acquisition to the Museum. 1869, Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, Royal Society of Tasmania, page 76:
5. (Canada, US) Either of two dark-colored fish of the west Atlantic, the tautog of New England (Tautoga onitis) and the black sea bass (Centropristis striata).
6. (Australia, New-Zealand) Any of various dark-colored fishes of Australasia, especially the luderick (Girella tricuspidata), and a freshwater fish, Gadopsis marmoratus.
   • The creek was reputed to contain blackfish and Nathan […] arranged the extraordinary collection of American lures he had inherited from an uncle. 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 337:

Forms

Deriveds

Alaska blackfish

Translations (6)

mi upokohue (pilot whale) · ast moscote (pilot whale) · ast calderón (pilot whale) · ast arruaxe (pilot whale) · de Grindwal (pilot whale) · mi tukuperu (pilot whale)

blackfish en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈblakfɪʃ/ (UK)

Etymology

From black + fish.

Meanings

1. To go fishing for blackfish.
   • Blackfishing from the beach. I've done my research. Hundreds of shipwrecks line the Jersey coast, and many of them are close enough to reach with a long cast on a dead-low tide. These wrecks hold tautog, porgies, sea bass, flounder. 2014, Nick Honachefsky, The Jersey Surf Diaries:
   • Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound, and Narragansett Bay have many spots where blackfishing is productive year after year. 1984, Field and Stream, volume 89, page xxx:
   • Earlier (Caldwell and Caldwell 1971a), we concentrated on the blackfishing at St. Vincent, the fishery with which we were most familiar, and listed known localities of fishing for blackfish and other species in the southern Caribbean. 1975, Canada. Fisheries, Marine Service, Review of Biology and Fisheries for Smaller Cetaceans, page 1106:

Forms

blackfish en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈblakfɪʃ/ (UK)

Etymology

Blend of black + catfish (“(to create) a fake online profile”).

Meanings

1. (Internet, derogatory, of a non-black person) To adopt signifiers of black identity (for example, by darkening the skin, or wearing traditionally black hairstyles).
   • Judging from not only various records of campus life but also the numerous Instagram accounts of women appearing as "black" personalities — a phenomenon known as "blackfishing" — many do not know better. 2019 February 7, Wil Haygood, “Why Won’t Blackface Go Away? It’s Part of America’s Troubled Cultural Legacy”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2019:
   • On Sept. 28, Tumblr user wickedghastly posted allegations that the rapper has blackfished her fans. “Literally if you just look at images of her you can physically see her morphing herself over the years into looking Black,” wickedghastly wrote. 2020 October 8, Kris Seavers, “Newsletter: Princess Nokia accused of blackfishing”, in The Daily Dot, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2021:

Forms

Relateds

blackface · wokefish · catfish · blaccent