devilfishes

Noun

devilfish (plural devilfishes or devilfish)

1. (dated) The octopus.
   • The unattractive reptilian specimen in the man’s right hand is an octopus, or devilfish, which constitutes a favorite dish with the Asiatics of the islands.1899, Jose de Olivares, Our Islands and Their People as Seen with Camera and Pencil, St. Louis, M.O.; New York, N.Y.: Thompson Pub. Co, page 470
2. (dated) The giant squid or kraken.
   • It can easily be imagined that such creatures as these could drown a man, or upset a boat, and they have furnished material for many fabulous accounts of sea-serpents and devil-fishes.1880, James Henry Emerton, Life on the Seashore, Or, Animals of Our Coasts and Bay, Salem, M.A.: George A. Bates, page 94
3. (dated) The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus.
   • The California gray whale, or devil-fish (Rhachianectes glaucus), is found only in the North Pacific, and is an object of pursuit by the shore stations established along that coast.1887, A. Howard Clark, “The American-Whale Fishery”, in Science, volume 9, number 217, New York, N.Y.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, page 323
4. (dated) The piranha.
   • The same carnivorous instincts are likewise attributed to the devil-fish, or piranha so common in the Rio San Francisco, and the terror of bathers.1860, “Paraguay”, in The New Monthly Magazine, volume 119, London: Chapman & Hall, page 461
5. (dated) The anglerfish, Lophius piscatorius.
   • The American angler, or devil fish, which was placed In the Aquarium on Tuesday, was found dead in the tank yesterday morning. Mr. Coup, the manager, is making great effort to procure another specimen, as well as some strange fish from South America.1876 November 16, “City and Suburban News”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2
6. (dated) The suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus (translating Spanish pez diablo).
   • In the rivers of southern Mexico, a lizard-like fish with armor for skin has taken over the habitat of the native fish like róbalo and mojarra. Locals call it the pez diablo, or devil fish, and long assumed it was poisonous.[2018 July 2, Tara Duggan, “Bay Area men’s plan to market invasive fish from Mexico hits snag in U.S.”, in San Francisco Chronicle, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2022

See all 9 meanings of devilfish