The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gudgeon \Gud"geon\ (g[u^]j"[u^]n), n. [OE. gojon, F. goujon, from L. gobio, or gobius, Gr. kwbio`s Cf. 1st Goby. ]
(Zo["o]l.) A small European freshwater fish ( Gobio fluviatilis), allied to the carp. It is easily caught and often used for food and for bait. In America the killifishes or minnows are often called gudgeons.
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What may be got without skill or merit.
Fish not, with this melancholy bait, For this fool gudgeon, this opinion.
--Shak. A person easily duped or cheated.
--Swift.-
(Mach.) The pin of iron fastened in the end of a wooden shaft or axle, on which it turns; formerly, any journal, or pivot, or bearing, as the pintle and eye of a hinge, but esp. the end journal of a horizontal.
6. (Naut.) A metal eye or socket attached to the sternpost to receive the pintle of the rudder.
Ball gudgeon. See under Ball.