loach
noun
1.
slender freshwater fishes of Eurasia and Africa resembling catfishes
Origin
From Middle English loche, from Old French loche, further origin uncertain, possibly from Vulgar Latin *laukka (“loach”), which could be from Gaulish *leuca (“loach, slug”), also attested as the feminine name Leuca, from leux (“bright, light”), a reference to slugs' bright appearance, the fish later being associated due to similarities to the slug.
Phrases
- clown loach
- dojo loach
- dwarf loach
- hillstream loach
- ladderback loach
- muddy loach
- oriental loach
- panda loach
Related words
Broader terms
Parts
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.