bycatch en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English by- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Indo-European *kaptós Proto-Italic *kaptos Latin captus Proto-Indo-European *-yetider. Latin -io Vulgar Latin *captiāre Old French chacierbor. Anglo-Norman cachierbor. Middle English cacchen English catch English bycatch From by- + catch.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) Any fish (or other creatures) that are not targeted as a catch but are unintentionally caught, and often discarded back into the sea.
Some offer him bags of bycatch—fish too small or net-mangled to sell, rays and seahorses few will want, and so on.
2022, N. K. Jemisin, The World We Make, Orbit, page 107:The nets come up full for once. Jumbo brown shrimp, […] The fish we keep too, […] Among the bycatch is a gorgeous sea slug with a silvery, narrow body no longer than an inch and six dark-blue appendages that reach out like fingers.
2025, Trang Thanh Tran, They Bloom at Night, →ISBN, page 35:
- (countable, uncountable) Any person, animal, or thing, captured unintentionally on camera or film.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| bycatches | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| by-catch | alternative | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Translations (13)
fi sivusaalis (unintended catch) · fr prise accessoire (unintended catch) · fr capture accessoire (unintended catch) · de Beifang (unintended catch) · cmn 混獲 /混获 (unintended catch) · pt captura acessória (unintended catch) · ca captura accessòria (unintended catch) · ja 混獲 (unintended catch) · pl przyłów (unintended catch) · cs vedlejší úlovek (unintended catch) · es captura accesoria (unintended catch) · cy sgîl-ddalfa (unintended catch) · nl bijvangst (unintended catch)