zander

[prettygoodword]

The thing about the Word With Friends solo mode is that the computer player is not limited by such considerations as how common a word is. Play it a while, and you can learn a lot of obscure vocabulary, especially if you jot down the what-the-heck-is-THAT? ones. So, a theme week -- one I plan to repeat every other week until my list runs out. I call it "WTF WWF" for short.


zander (ZAN-der) - n., a freshwater pike-perch (Sander lucioperca) of central Europe, valued as a food fish.


A close relative of the perch with a few pike-like traits, but otherwise unrelated to those. Likes freshwater lakes and large rivers, but also tolerates brackish waters. We got the name from German, from Low German dialect, origin unknown.


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.

Comments

[movingfinger]

This fish is the reason I privately find the currently-fashionable abbreviation of "Alexander" as "Zander" highly funny.

I always assumed it was from "Zahn," tooth, as pike are notoriously bitey predatory fish.

[prettygoodword]

Apparently there's no evidence for that idea.

[movingfinger]

Although DWDS calls it "ungeklart," other words for the same fish in the same regions have roots in words for "tooth," so in an armchair way I'm comfortable with positing a relationship...

[prettygoodword]

That does sound suggestive.