handfish

H4A1N1D2F4I1S1H4

noun

Any of the anglerfishes of the family Brachionichthyidae, which can "walk" on the sea floor using their pectoral fins.

Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounhandfish (plural handfish or handfishes)

plural handfishes

  1. Any of the anglerfishes of the family Brachionichthyidae, which can "walk" on the sea floor using their pectoral fins.

    An astonishing exception, however, is a single fossil of a handfish, so-named because they ʻwalkʼ on fin-like hands.

    2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 69

Origin

From hand + fish.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

handfish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handfish

MLA

“handfish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handfish. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “handfish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handfish.

Source: handfish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.