Fisk
name, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To run about; to fist; to whisk. obsolete
"[W]hen the light of Goddes word is once reueled, then he is buſy, then he rores then he fyſkes abrode, and ſtyrreth vp erronious opiniõs."
- 2 To rebut an argument line by line, especially on the Internet.
"A proper fisking leaves the reader with a clear understanding that the text so fisked was appallingly wrong in every important respect!"
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Richland Township, Adair County, Iowa.
- 3 A place in the United States:; A minor city in Butler County, Missouri.
- 4 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in the town of Utica, Winnebago County, Wisconsin.
Example
More examples"[W]hen the light of Goddes word is once reueled, then he is buſy, then he rores then he fyſkes abrode, and ſtyrreth vp erronious opiniõs."
Etymology
From Middle English fisken, fisshen. Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old English *fȳscian, an iterative form of fȳsan (“to hasten”), thus equivalent to feeze + -k, and faze + -k. Compare also Swedish fjäska (“to bustle about”).
Back-formation from fisking.
Occupational surname for a fisherman, from Old English fisc or Old Norse fiskr, all from Proto-Germanic *fiskaz.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.