What does garfish mean?
Garfish is a long, slender marine fish with a silvery body, narrow jaws, and fine, needlelike teeth. The term usually refers especially to Belone belone, a species encountered in European coastal waters and valued as food. Its delicate flesh may be grilled, fried, or served fresh, while its roe is also a prized delicacy. The word is most familiar in British English, where it also has a somewhat old-fashioned, culinary character; in North American English, “needlefish” is generally more common. Garfish should not be confused with the freshwater fishes collectively called gars, including the alligator gar. Both names occur in older usage for long, pointed fish, but modern dictionaries usually distinguish the marine garfish from the armored freshwater gars. Garfish is a particularly useful word because it identifies a recognizable fish more precisely than a broad label such as “needlefish” while also preserving the name’s vividly descriptive history.
nounA long, slender marine fish with a narrow body and long, needlelike jaws, especially the European garfish, Belone belone.
- A marine fish of the family Belonidae, with a long, narrow body and needlelike jaws; especially the European species Belone belone.
"The menu featured fried garfish with lemon and fresh herbs."
"Fresh garfish is often served whole with a crisp skin."
"The fishing boat returned with several garfish in its net."
The unchanged plural is standard, though “garfishes” is also used.
"Several garfish were displayed at the fish market."
The garfish earned its genus name, Belone, from a Greek word for “needle”—an apt description of its spear-like jaws.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does garfish come from?
Garfish developed in Middle English as “garfiss,” meaning “spear fish.” Its elements are Old English gār, “spear,” and fisc, “fish,” a combination that aptly describes the animal's long, pointed jaws. The modern English word gar continues the sense of the Old English word for a spear, and modern spear is a cognate of that same ancient root.
Related word forms
How garfish is actually used
Garfish is especially common in British English. North American speakers more often use “needlefish,” although “gar” can also refer to fish in the belonid family.
Easily confused with garfish
Gar commonly denotes fishes such as the alligator gar, which are freshwater, whereas garfish denotes a slender marine needlefish, especially Belone belone.