moderlieschen

M3O1D2E1R1L1I1E1S1C3H4E1N1

noun

Leucaspius delineatus, a species of freshwater fish found throughout temperate continental Europe.

Similar
sunbleak
OriginGerman Moderlieschen →
Scrabble 21
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Meanings

noun
  1. Leucaspius delineatus, a species of freshwater fish found throughout temperate continental Europe.

    The European moderlieschen, Leucaspius delineatus, which lays eggs in spirals or rings on plant stems, is aided by enlarged genital papillae.

    2012, Ian J. Winfield, Joe S. Nelson, Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, biology and exploitation, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 144
    3 more examples

    Leucaspius delineatus (Heckel) The common moderlieschen is a small fish of no economic importance, living in the basins of many Ukrainian rivers. Body length: up to 7-8cm (usually less).

    1963, Aleksandr Prokofʹevich Markevich, Parasitic Fauna of Freshwater Fish of the Ukrainian S.S.R.: (Parazitofauna Presnovodnykh Ryb USSR)

    […] numbers of eggs in ribbons (perch) or strings (the moderlieschen Leucaspius delineatus) which are entwined amongst submerged vegetation.

    1975, B. A. Whitton, River Ecology, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 226

    To avoid lipoid degeneration in the trout liver young fish which contain less fat should be used. Fresh-water trash fish (bleak, ruff, gudgeon, loach, verkhovka or moderlieschen, minnow, etc.) are considered a better natural food, […]

    1983, F. Martyshev, Pond Fisheries, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 366

    Synonyms: sunbleak

Synonyms & antonyms

nounLeucaspius delineatus, a species of freshwater fish found throughout temperate continental Europe.

Similar
sunbleak
Also see
sunbleak

Origin

  1. GermanModerlieschen
  2. Englishmoderlieschen

From German Moderlieschen, from or corresponding to Mutterlöschen, Mutterloseken, literally "motherless one(s)", because the eggs can withstand long exposure to air, stick to ducks and other birds, and be carried to ephemeral ponds, where they may hatch without adults present, leading to folk beliefs that the fish were motherless.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Hungarian kurta baing
  • kurta baingfish Leucaspius delineatus
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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