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Glite Dictionary
tomcod

tomcod

1 8.6
A small fish from North America that lives in rivers and near the coast
  • noun
  • /ˈtɑːmˌkɒd/
  • US
: tomcod
  • During our fishing trip, we caught several tomcod that were quite small.

Examples

  • The tomcod is often found swimming along the shores of the Atlantic coast.

  • You think any of them tomcods knew how to write when I hired them?

    The Shipping News (2001)

  • And for example, the fish... The Tomcod... it mutated during the Industrial Revolution... due to the toxic waste that was being dumped... into the Hudson River.

    Saltwater (2016)

  • In the Hudson River, tomcod, Microgadus tomcod, developed neoplasms; PCBs were the suspected pollutant causing them (Couch and Harshbarger, 1985).

    Academic text (1990)

  • In the Hudson River, tomcod, Microgadus tomcod, developed neoplasms; PCBs were the suspected pollutant causing them (Couch and Harshbarger, 1985).

    Academic text (1990)

  • Locals enjoy grilling tomcod, as it's a popular fish in regional cuisine.

Surface Forms

tomcod singular
tomcods plural

Morphology

tomcod = tom + cod (semi-transparent) = tom + cod

The second element 'cod' is transparent as a fish type, but the function or meaning of 'tom' as the modifier is obscure to many learners, so the compound's exact sense is not fully predictable.

Etymology

Tomcod looks like a simple compound of tom and cod, so a helpful way to remember it is to think 'small cod' or a 'cod called Tom'. A tomcod is indeed a small fish that looks like a cod and lives in North American coastal waters and rivers, which is why the name fits.