Pacific sturgeon
- noun
- /pəˈsɪfɪk ˈstɜrdʒən/
- US
:
esturión del Pacífico
- The Pacific sturgeon is prized both for its size and for its delicate roe, used to make caviar.
Examples
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Overfishing has caused steep declines in Pacific sturgeon populations in recent decades.
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Anglers from around the world come to the Columbia River hoping to catch a massive Pacific sturgeon.
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The Pacific sturgeon is a fascinating species.
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Many fishermen seek the Pacific sturgeon for its size.
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Anglers from around the world come to the Columbia River hoping to catch a massive Pacific sturgeon.
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Overfishing has caused steep declines in Pacific sturgeon populations in recent decades.
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The Pacific sturgeon is prized both for its size and for its delicate roe, used to make caviar.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A very large freshwater fish from western North America valued for its eggs called caviar and for eating
A very large fish from the northwest coast of North America that people catch for food and sport
A large fish in the Sacramento River that people eat and catch for sport
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward compositional noun: the adjective 'Pacific' locates the species and 'sturgeon' names the fish, so the combined meaning (a sturgeon associated with the Pacific region) is directly derivable from the parts. Such geographic modifier + noun patterns are common cross-linguistically and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Pacific sturgeon combines Pacific (the Pacific Ocean and coast) and sturgeon (a very large, old-looking fish with hard plates on its body). So the name simply means 'a big sturgeon that lives in the Pacific's sea and rivers'.