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pike perch

pike perch

7.7
A large freshwater fish with a long body and sharp teeth that eats other fish
  • noun
  • /ˈpaɪk pɜːrtʃ/
translation icon : perca lucio
  • The local restaurant is famous for its fresh pike perch served with a lemon sauce.

Examples

  • The chef prepared a delicious meal featuring pike perch and seasonal vegetables.

  • During our fishing trip, we caught several pike perch that we cooked for dinner.

  • Friend of the Sea Global Global 47 3 7 Basa, European perch, pike-perch

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

walleye
vspike perch
  • US
8 7.9

A large fresh water fish like a pike that people eat and catch for sport

is the broader category including this North American species and others
walleyed pike
vspike perch
  • US
1 8.1

A freshwater fish like a pike with shiny silvery eyes found in North American lakes

covers that fish as one example among several similar species
pike-perch
vspike perch
8.9

A freshwater fish with a long body that looks like a pike and is a perch

is the broader label for the whole set rather than this single name
Stizostedion
vspike perch
  • Specialized
9.9

A freshwater fish like a pike or perch that lives in Europe, Asia, and North America

is the common group term covering many species beyond this genus
blue pikeperch
vspike perch
  • Specialized
9.3

A blue freshwater fish that lived in the Great Lakes and no longer exists

is the general species group, larger in scope than this regional variety

Surface Forms

pike perch singular
pike perches plural

Morphology

pike + perch

Both constituents are common fish names, so a learner who knows 'pike' and 'perch' can readily infer that 'pike perch' denotes a type of fish that is pike-like or a perch resembling a pike (e.g., zander). This compositional noun formation is regular and cross-linguistically common, making the meaning predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Pike perch comes from a simple picture: the fish looks like both a pike and a perch, so people joined the two names together. That's why pike perch today means a freshwater fish, often called 'zander', that hunts and eats other fish.