sculpins

Variant of sculpin

noun pl. sculpin or sculpins

  1. any of a family (Cottidae) of small, generally scaleless, mostly marine percoid fishes with a spiny head and wide mouth
  2. ☆ a scorpionfish (Scorpaena guttata) of the S California coast

Origin: prob. altered < Fr scorpene < L scorpaena: see scorpion

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
link/cite print suggestion box