Stickleback Definition

stĭkəl-băk
sticklebacks
noun
sticklebacks
Any of a family (Gasterosteidae, order Gasterosteiformes) of small, bony-plated, marine and freshwater bony fishes with two to eleven sharp spines in front of the dorsal fin: the male builds a nest for the female's eggs.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Stickleback

Noun

Singular:
stickleback
Plural:
sticklebacks

Origin of Stickleback

  • Old English and dialect stickle a prickle, spine, sting (Anglo-Saxon sticel) + back. See stick (transitive verb) and compare banstickle.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English stikelbak Old English sticel prick steig- in Indo-European roots Middle English bak back back1

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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