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Glite Dictionary
fishhook

fishhook

4 2.2
A small curved metal tool with a sharp point used to catch fish
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪʃhʊk/
translation icon : anzuelo
  • The fisherman checked his tackle box for the right size of fishhook to catch larger trout.

Examples

  • A beaded cord hangs around his neck, a small fishhook dangling from it.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • If you teach me how to make a fishhook like that I could teach you how to hunt.

    The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

  • The other end of the string had a sort of shoehorn and a fishhook on it.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • A better fishhook catches more fish, feeds more bellies, and makes for more surviving grandchildren, etc.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The fisher folk wanted nails, fishhooks, and tie-rings for their boats, and Myrddin taught me to make them.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • He carefully tied the bait onto the fishhook before casting his line into the lake.

  • She found a rusty fishhook buried in the sand while cleaning the beach.

Surface Forms

fishhook singular
fishhooks plural

Morphology

fishhook = fish + hook (transparent) = fish + hook

The meaning is directly the combination of 'fish' + 'hook' (a hook for catching fish), which is obvious to learners.

Etymology

The word fishhook is just the simple joining of fish and hook, so it literally means 'a hook for catching fish'. That's why a fishhook is the small, curved, sharp hook you use to 'hook' or catch a fish.