Etymology

stockfish

stock·fish
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Today it means: Cod (or similar fish) having been cut open and cured in the open air without salt. Full definition →

Middle English stokfissh ← Middle Dutch stocvisch ← Middle Low German stokvisch
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stockfish · noun1

  1. Middle Low German · derived fromstokvisch“stick fish”
  2. Middle Dutch · derived fromstocvisch
  3. Middle English · inherited fromstokfissh
  4. English todaystockfish

Inherited from Middle English stokfissh, stokfysch, from Middle Dutch stocvisch and/or Middle Low German stokvisch (“stick fish”), because the fish are dried on sticks or poles. Equivalent to stock + fish.

stockfish · noun2

  1. Dutch · derived fromstokvis
  2. Afrikaans · borrowed fromstokvis
  3. English todaystockfish

Borrowed from Afrikaans stokvis, from Dutch stokvis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.