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Shark vs Sturgeon - What's the difference?

shark | sturgeon |

As nouns the difference between shark and sturgeon

is that shark is a scaleless, predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha, with a cartilaginous skeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head while sturgeon is any marine or freshwater fish of the family Acipenseridae that are prized for their roe and are endemic to temperate seas and rivers of the northern hemisphere, especially central Eurasia.

As a verb shark

is to steal or obtain through fraud.

shark

English

(wikipedia shark) (Selachimorpha)

Etymology 1

First attested in the 1560s, the word meaning 'scaleless fish' is of uncertain origin: it was apparently brought to England, with a specimen, by . The word may derive from the (etyl) xoc, or it may be an application of the "scoundrel" sense (which derives from the German ) to the fish; no explanation is agreed upon.[http://www.languagehat.com/archives/002843.php]

Alternative forms

* sharke (obsolete )

Noun

(en noun)
  • A scaleless, predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha, with a cartilaginous skeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head.
  • * 1569', ''The true discripcion of this marueilous straunge Fishe, whiche was taken on Thursday was sennight, the xvi. day of June, this present month, in the yeare of our Lord God, M.D.lxix.'', a broadside printed in London, the earliest known use of the term; reprinted in ''A Collection of Seventy-Nine Black-Letter Ballads and Broadsides: printed in the reigh of Queen Elizabeth, between the years 1559 and 1597'' in ' 1867 :
    • The straunge fishe is in length xvij. foote and iij. foote broad, and in compas about the bodie vj. foote; and is round snowted, short headdid, hauing iij. rankes of teeth on either iawe, [...]. Also it hath v. gills of eache side of the head, shoing white. Ther is no proper name for it that I know, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a sharke .
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 13, author=AP, work=The Guardian
    • , title= Man 'surfs' great white shark , passage=He said he had spoken to a woman who was kayaking off Catalina Island, California, in 2008 when a shark' slammed her kayak from underneath and sent her flying into the air. She then landed on the back of the '''shark''', Collier said. "At that point the ' shark started to swim out to sea, so she jumped off its back," Collier said.}}
  • Someone who exploits others, for example by trickery, lies, usury, extortion.
  • * , chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks , and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”}}
    Synonyms
    * (scaleless cartilaginous fish) (l) (obsolete)
    Derived terms
    (shark and related fish species) * angel shark, angelshark * basking shark * bramble shark * bull shark * bullhead shark * bonnethead shark * carpetshark * catshark, cat shark * cookiecutter shark * cow shark * frilled shark * goblin shark * great white shark * Greenland shark * ground shark * gummyshark, gummy shark * hammerhead shark * hound shark, houndshark * lantern shark, lanternshark * lemon shark * leopard shark * mackerel shark * mako shark * nurse shark * requiem shark * sand shark * saw shark, sawshark * sleepershark * swellshark * thresher shark * tiger shark * weasel shark * whale shark * white shark

    See also

    * dogfish * hammerhead * porbeagle * smooth-hound * thresher * white pointer

    Etymology 2

    From the (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (informal, derogatory) A sleazy and amoral lawyer; an ambulance chaser.
  • (informal) A relentless and resolute person or group, especially in business.
  • (informal) A very good poker or pool player.
  • (sports, and, games) A person who feigns ineptitude to win money from others.
    • Synonyms
    * (player who feigns ineptitude to win money) hustler
    Usage notes
    * The use of the term by people unfamiliar with pool is rarely well perceived by experienced players.
    Derived terms
    (shark) * card shark * loan shark * pool shark * shark bait * sharklike * sharkskin

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To steal or obtain through fraud.
  • (obsolete) To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to swindle.
  • * Bishop Earle
    • Neither sharks for a cup or a reckoning.
  • (obsolete) To live by shifts and stratagems.
    • (Beaumont and Fletcher)
    Derived terms
    * shirk

    Etymology 3

    Perhaps from the noun, or perhaps related to shear.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly.
  • * Shakespeare, Hamlet I.i.
    • Fortinbras Sharked up a list of lawless resolutes.

    Anagrams

    * *

    References

    ----

    sturgeon

    English

    (wikipedia sturgeon)

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • Any marine or freshwater fish of the family Acipenseridae that are prized for their roe and are endemic to temperate seas and rivers of the northern hemisphere, especially central Eurasia.
  • * 1961 , W. N. Holmes, Edward M. Donaldson, 1: Body Compartments and the Distribution of Electrolytes'', William Stewart Hoar, David J. Randall (editors), ''Fish Physiology , Volume 1, page 57,
    • An investigation has been carried out into the changes in blood chemistry which occur during the migration of young sturgeon and spawned adults from freshwater into saltwater and of the migration of prespawning adults in the reverse direction by Magnin (1962).
  • * 1997', M. L. Khrykhtin, V. G. Svirsky, '''''Sturgeon''' catch and the current status of '''sturgeon stocks in the Amur River'', Andreas Bauer, Astrid Kaiser-Pohlmann, ''Sturgeon Stocks and Caviar Trade Workshop: Proceedings , page 29,
    • Strict regulation of the catch was introduced in the Soviet Union in 1976 in order to prevent overfishing of the sexually mature sturgeons in the river.
  • * 2002 , Elizabeth Grossman, Watershed: The Undamming of America , page 41,
    • Long and snout-nosed with rows of platelike bony protrusions, sturgeon have a dinosaur-era look.
  • * 2006 , Richard N. Williams, James A. Lichatowich, Madison S. Powell, 4: The Diversity, Structure and Status of Populations'', Richard N. Williams (editor), ''Return to the River: Restoring Salmon Back to the Columbia River , page 156,
    • Information on the spawning period, spawning behavior, and other details of the reproductive biology of green sturgeon in the Columbia River is lacking (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 1995).
  • * 2006 , Samuel M. McGinnis, Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of California , Revised Edition, page 139,
    • Only about one out of every 80 sturgeons' caught in the Sacramento River is a Green '''Sturgeon''', and that lopsided ratio is reversed for ' sturgeons taken in the Klamath River.
  • * 2010 , Molly Aloian, The Yangtze: China's Majestic River , page 22,
    • In 2009, 120,000 Chinese sturgeons were released into the Yangtze River in an effort to boost the population of the endangered species in the wild.

    Synonyms

    * (fish of family Acipenseridae) acipenserid

    See also

    * acipenserine * caviar * isinglass