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Glite Dictionary
🎣 A person who fishes 🦦 A weasel-like animal
fisher

fisher

3 9.1
A large dark brown mammal like a weasel that lives in trees and eats small animals
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪʃər/
  • US
translation icon : marta pescadora
  • In the forest, we spotted a fisher climbing a tree in search of prey.

Examples

  • During our hike, we were excited to see a fisher hunting for small animals among the branches.

  • River ice conditions had changed too, said most of the fishers.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Shrimpers and fishers had to move beyond the dead zone to find their catch.

    Academic text (2006)

  • One of the surf fishers put a large red thermos on the counter when the waitress had gone.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Buchert monitors radio-collared moose, pine martens, wolves, lynx, and fishers by tuning into different frequencies.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The wildlife experts noted that the fisher is an agile climber and skilled hunter.

Synonyms

fisher cat
vsfisher
  • US
1 9.1

A large dark brown North American animal that climbs trees to hunt small animals

focuses on relation to martens rather than using the scientific name
Martes pennanti
vsfisher
  • Specialized
9.9

A large dark brown animal that lives in trees in North America and hunts small animals

is the common English name for the same tree-dwelling North American carnivore
pekan
vsfisher
  • US
9.9

A large dark brown wild animal that climbs trees to hunt

is the usual modern name for this large tree-dwelling carnivore

Compounds

fisher cat
  • US
1 9.1

A large dark brown North American animal that climbs trees to hunt small animals

Surface Forms

fisher singular
fishers plural

Morphology

fisher = fish (opaque) = fish + er

Although the form can be segmented as 'fish' + '-er', the mammal sense is a lexicalized species name and is not compositionally predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Fisher for the animal did not get its name because it catches fish; English speakers long called it a fisher-cat, and one helpful way to remember the name is to think of that old name for a weasel-like animal with valuable fur. That's why fisher can mean a dark, weasel-like mammal as well as a person who catches fish.