Meanings
nounneshaw (plural neshaws)
plural neshaws
- uncommonMassachusetts; especially Martha's Vineyard; Massachusetts; especially Martha's VineyardA silver eel.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:neshaw.
1 more example
But when fall comes, the big neshaws want to get to sea and away from here, and that’s when men catch ’em in beach pots and without bait.
c. 1960, Joseph Chase Allen, The wheelhouse loafer [selections from Joseph Chase Allen's weekly longshore log, "With the fishermen", from The Vineyard Gazette, 1940-1960],page 280
Origin
- Narragansettneeshauog“eels, lampreys”
- Englishneshaw
From Narragansett neeshauog (“eels, lampreys”) or a related word.
More words from Narragansett
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
neshaw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neshaw
MLA
“neshaw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neshaw. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neshaw,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neshaw.
Source: neshaw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.