What is "catfish"

Wolf \Wolf\, n.; pl. Wolves. [OE. wolf, wulf, AS. wulf; akin to OS. wulf, D. & G. wolf, Icel. [=u]lfr, Sw. ulf, Dan. ulv, Goth. wulfs, Lith. vilkas, Russ. volk', L. lupus, Gr. ly`kos, Skr. v[.r]ka; also to Gr. "e`lkein to draw, drag, tear in pieces. [root]286. Cf. Lupine, a., Lyceum.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus Canis and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf ( Canis lupus), the American gray, or timber, wolf ( Canis occidentalis), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man.

2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larv[ae] of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf.

3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.

4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.

5. An eating ulcer or sore. Cf. Lupus. [Obs.]

   If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side.
   --Jer. Taylor.

6. (Mus.)

   1. The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament.

   2. In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale.

7. (Textile Manuf.) A willying machine. --Knight. Black wolf. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees.

   2. A black variety of the American gray wolf. Golden wolf (Zo["o]l.), the Thibetan wolf ( Canis laniger); -- called also chanco. Indian wolf (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic wolf ( Canis pallipes) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also landgak. Prairie wolf (Zo["o]l.), the coyote. Sea wolf. (Zo["o]l.) See in the Vocabulary. Strand wolf (Zo["o]l.) the striped hyena. Tasmanian wolf (Zo["o]l.), the zebra wolf. Tiger wolf (Zo["o]l.), the spotted hyena. To keep the wolf from the door, to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation. See Wolf, 3, above. --Tennyson. Wolf dog. (Zo["o]l.)

      1. The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St. Bernard dog.

      2. The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves.

   3. A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog.

      Wolf eel (Zo["o]l.), a wolf fish.

      Wolf fish (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large, voracious marine fishes of the genus Anarrhichas, especially the common species ( Anarrhichas lupus) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also catfish, sea cat, sea wolf, stone biter, and swinefish.

      Wolf net, a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish.

      Wolf's peach (Bot.), the tomato, or love apple ( Lycopersicum esculentum).

      Wolf spider (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus Lycosa, or family Lycosid[ae]. These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color. See Illust. in App.

      Zebra wolf (Zo["o]l.), a savage carnivorous marsupial ( Thylacinus cynocephalus) native of Tasmania; -- called also Tasmanian wolf.

Bullhead \Bull"head`\, n.

1. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A fresh-water fish of many species, of the genus Uranidea, esp. Uranidea gobio of Europe, and Uranidea Richardsoni of the United States; -- called also miller's thumb.

   2. In America, several species of Amiurus; -- called also catfish, horned pout, and bullpout.

   3. A marine fish of the genus Cottus; the sculpin.

2. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. The black-bellied plover ( Squatarola helvetica); -- called also beetlehead.

   2. The golden plover.

3. A stupid fellow; a lubber. [Colloq.]
   --Jonson.

4. (Zo["o]l.) A small black water insect.
   --E. Phillips.

   Bullhead whiting (Zo["o]l.), the kingfish of Florida ( Menticirrus alburnus).

1610s, from cat (n.) + fish (n.). Probably so called for its "whiskers."

n. Any fish of the order Siluriformes, that are mainly found in freshwater, are without scales, and have barbels like whiskers around the mouth. vb. (label en Internet slang) To create a fake online profile to seduce someone (from the 2010 documentary ''http://en.wikipedi

1. org/wiki/Catfish%20(film)'')

1. n. flesh of scaleless food fish of the southern United States; often farmed [syn: mudcat]

2. large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic fins [syn: wolffish, wolf fish]

3. any of numerous mostly freshwater bottom-living fishes of Eurasia and North America with barbels like whiskers around the mouth [syn: siluriform fish]

4. [also: catfishes (pl)]

Catfish is a group of primarily freshwater fish.

Catfish may also refer to:

Catfish is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, involving a young man, Nev, being filmed by his brother and friend, co-directors Ariel and Henry, as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook. The film was a critical and commercial success. It led to an MTV reality TV series, Catfish: The TV Show.

"Catfish" is a 1976 disco song by the Four Tops released as a single on ABC Records. It was the title track of the album Catfish. In the United States, "Catfish" reached 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 7 on the R&B singles chart. By the release of "Catfish" in 1976, the Four Tops popularity had begun to decline.

Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia and the Piraíba of South America, to detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. There are armour-plated types and there are also naked types, neither having scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbel. Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others (many Auchenipteridae) are crepuscular or diurnal (most Loricariidae or Callichthyidae for example).

Catfish is a song written Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy. It was originally recorded for Dylan's 1976 album Desire, but was not released until 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. "Catfish" was a tribute to future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Hunter (better known as Catfish Hunter).

Joe Cocker covered the song and included it on his 1976 album Stingray and Kinky Friedman released a live version on his Lasso from El Paso album. Albert Castiglia covered the song on his These Are the Days (2008) album.