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Glite Dictionary
white fungus

white fungus

7.5
A white, cotton-like growth that appears on fish and their eggs when the fish are sick
  • noun
translation icon : hongo blanco
  • After a few days of observing the pond, we noticed a white fungus growing on the tadpoles.

Examples

  • If you see a white fungus on your fish, it's important to treat them immediately to prevent further infection.

  • Only a small patch of white fungus remained on the left side of his groin.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Q: The oaks in our neighborhood have a white fungus.

    Blog text (10)

  • The fish in the tank developed a white fungus that covered their fins and gills.

Synonyms

Saprolegnia ferax
vswhite fungus
  • Specialized
9.9

A water fungus that grows on fish, tadpoles, and eggs and makes white cottony patches

refers to the general disease rather than one specific species

Surface Forms

white fungus singular
white fungi plural

Morphology

white + fungus

This is a straightforward descriptive noun phrase: 'white' (color) + 'fungus' (organism) yields a fungus that is white or appears white, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the basic meaning. Although the specific pathological details (infecting fish, tadpoles, eggs) are domain-specific, the core referent is transparently compositional and cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

White fungus comes from the way the disease looks: a white, cottony growth on a fish's fins or skin. The words white and fungus show that picture, so the term means 'a fungus that causes a white, cottony growth and makes the animal sick'.