eel
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
eel/iːl/
▶noun a snake-like fish with a slender elongated body and poorly developed fins, proverbial for its slipperiness. [Anguilla anguilla (Europe) and related species, order Anguilliformes.]
■ used in names of unrelated fishes that resemble the true eels, e.g. electric eel.
– derivatives
eel-like adjective,
eely adjective.
eel-like adjective,
eely adjective.
– origin OE ǣl, of Gmc origin.
'eel' also found in these Oxford entries:
amphiuma
- anguilliform
- conger
- cusk-eel
- cyclostome
- electric eel
- elver
- glass eel
- grig
- gulper
- hagfish
- kingklip
- lamprey
- moray
- sand eel
- siren
- sniggle
- snipe eel
- spitchcock
