rainbow smelt
- noun
- /ˈreɪnboʊ smɛlt/
- US
:
pez smelt arcoíris
- Declines in rainbow smelt and rusty crayfish abundance during the removal of these invasive species in Sparkling Lake.
- rainbow smelt and crayfish
Examples
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In the coastal waters, rainbow smelt can be found swimming in schools, making them easy to catch.
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Rusty crayfish and rainbow smelt create conditions that favor their own success.
Academic text (2007) -
Rainbow smelt are often used in recipes because they are a delicious source of protein.
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During the fishing season, many anglers target rainbow smelt for their culinary value.
Synonyms
6
5.8
A small silvery fish that moves between sea and rivers to lay eggs
A small fish that lives in fresh and salt water in eastern North America and Alaska that people eat
A small silvery fish from rivers and coasts of eastern North America and Alaska eaten as food
Surface Forms
Morphology
rainbow + smelt
This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a B1 learner who knows 'rainbow' and 'smelt' will infer it denotes a type of smelt (likely with rainbow-like coloration). Species and descriptive compound nouns follow common compositional patterns across languages, so the meaning is directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Rainbow smelt is named for the fish's shiny, silvery body that can show faint rainbow-like colors and the word smelt, a name for a small fish. That's why rainbow smelt today means 'a small silvery fish often eaten as food'.