What does "bowfin" mean?

Any of the two extant elongated fish of the genus Amia, native to North America, previously thought to be the same species.; especially, a ruddy bowfin (Amia calva).

What is a synonym for "bowfin"?

Common synonyms include: dogfish, amia calva, choupique, fish, grindle, john a. grindle.

Bowfin

//ˈbəʊfɪn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of the two extant elongated fish of the genus Amia, native to North America, previously thought to be the same species.; especially, a ruddy bowfin (Amia calva).
2
primitive long-bodied carnivorous freshwater fish with a very long dorsal fin; found in sluggish waters of North America wordnet
3
Any of the two extant elongated fish of the genus Amia, native to North America, previously thought to be the same species.; an eyespot bowfin (Amia ocellicauda).

Synonyms

All synonyms

dogfish amia calva choupique fish grindle john a. grindle

Etymology

From bow + fin.

Related phrases

amia calva

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.