Lamprey

//ˈlæm.pɹi// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any long slender primitive eel-like freshwater and saltwater fish of the order Petromyzontiformes, having a sucking mouth with rasping teeth but no jaw. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    primitive eellike freshwater or anadromous cyclostome having round sucking mouth with a rasping tongue wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
fishlamper eellamprey eel

Example

More examples

"Sea Lamprey is an eel-like fish native to the U.S. Atlantic coast that is also now found in the Great Lakes."

Etymology

From Middle English laumprei, from Old French lampreie (modern French lamproie), from Medieval Latin lampreda, possibly alteration of Late Latin lampetra (“lamprey”), whose further origin is unknown, though it is traditionally thought to be a combination of lambō (“I lick, lap”) + petra (“stone, rock”). Doublet of limpet, which derives from Latin.

Related phrases

Arctic lampreyEuropean river lampreyPacific lampreybrook lampreypouched lampreyriver lampreysea lampreysouthern lampreysouthern topeyed lamprey

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