elver
1
9.9
A young eel that swims from the sea into rivers to grow
- noun
- /ˈɛlvər/
- Specialized
:
anguila joven
- A recent example of this is the current decline in the population of elvers, or baby eels, which, when fully grown, make an excellent dish in the sushi market.
Examples
-
Currently, efforts are being made to protect the elvers, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the American eel under the Endangered Species Act.
-
When they elvers slick open, the Somali walked unburied.
Fiction book (1996) -
Another boom-and-bust in the vein of urchins and elvers, maybe.
Blog text (1) -
The three-inch elvers then begin the trip upstream, with females moving far upstream while males remain near the ocean.
Synonyms
eel
vselver
65
1.0
A long, thin fish with a snake-like body that lives in rivers or the sea
is the young form that migrates from sea into freshwater
Surface Forms
Etymology
Elver comes from an old form of the word eel plus a small ending -er meaning 'little', so it originally meant 'little eel'. So, an elver today is a 'young eel', especially one swimming from the sea into fresh water.