silverfish

S1I1L1V4E1R1F4I1S1H4
/ˈsɪlvə(ɹ)fɪʃ/

noun

A small wingless insect of species Lepisma saccharinum, with silvery scales; a type of bristletail.

Similar
fishmothLepisma saccharina
UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounsilverfish (plural silverfish or silverfishes)

plural silverfishes

  1. Certain insects
    1. A small wingless insect of species Lepisma saccharinum, with silvery scales; a type of bristletail.

      Synonyms: fishmoth

    2. Ctenolepisma lineata (four-lined silverfish).
    3. Ctenolepisma longicaudata (grey silverfish).
  2. Certain fish
    1. Megalops atlanticus (Atlantic tarpon, tarpum).
    2. Raiamas senegalensis (silver fish).
    3. Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum.
    4. A white variety of the goldfish.
    5. Aphareus rutilans (rusty jobfish)
    6. Argentina sphyraena (herring smelt)
    7. Argyrozona argyrozona (carpenter sea bream)
    8. Labeobarbus bynni (Niger barb, barbel, Nile barb)
    9. Enteromius mattozi (papermouth)
    10. Callorhinchus milii (elephant shark)
    11. Elops saurus (ladyfish)
    12. Leptatherina presbyteroides (hardyhead, prettyfish)
    13. Pseudocaranx dentex (white trevally)
    14. Steindachnerina argentea (toothless characin)
    15. Trachinotus ovatus (pompano)
    16. Trichiurus lepturus (largehead hairtail)
    17. Ulaema lefroyi (mottled mojarra)

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA small wingless insect of species Lepisma saccharinum, with silvery scales; a type of bristletail.

Similar
fishmoth

More synonyms by meaning

nounsilver-grey wingless insect found in houses feeding on book bindings and starched clothing

Similar
Lepisma saccharina
Broader
thysanuran insectthysanuron
Also see
derbiotarpum

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From silver + fish: from its appearance, in the case of the insect.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque zilar arrain
  • zilar arrainLepisma saccharina
Bulgarian люспеница
  • люспеница (ljuspenica)Lepisma saccharina
Catalan peixet d'argent
  • peixet d'argentLepisma saccharina
Chinese Mandarin 蠹, 蠹魚 /蠹鱼
  • 蠹 (dù)Lepisma saccharina
  • 蠹魚 /蠹鱼 (dùyú)Lepisma saccharina
  • 衣魚 /衣鱼 (yīyú)Lepisma saccharina
  • 壁魚 /壁鱼 (bìyú)Lepisma saccharina
  • 書蛀蟲 /书蛀虫 (shūzhùchóng)Lepisma saccharina
  • 紙魚 /纸鱼 (zhǐyú)Lepisma saccharina
Czech rybenka
  • rybenkaLepisma saccharina
Danish sølvfisk, sølvkræ
  • sølvfiskLepisma saccharina
  • sølvkræLepisma saccharina
Dutch zilvervisje, suikergast
  • zilvervisjeLepisma saccharina
  • suikergastLepisma saccharina
Esperanto lepismo, sukerfiŝeto
  • lepismoLepisma saccharina
  • sukerfiŝetoLepisma saccharina
Estonian majasoomukas, soomuklane
  • majasoomukasLepisma saccharina
  • soomuklaneLepisma saccharina
Finnish sokeritoukka
  • sokeritoukkaLepisma saccharina
French poisson d'argent
  • poisson d'argentLepisma saccharina
German Silberfischchen, Fischchen
  • SilberfischchenLepisma saccharina
  • FischchenLepisma saccharina
  • SilberfischLepisma saccharina
  • ZuckergastLepisma saccharina
Hebrew דג כסף
  • דג כסףLepisma saccharina
Hungarian pikkelyke
  • pikkelykeLepisma saccharina
Icelandic silfurskotta
  • silfurskottaLepisma saccharina
Indonesian gegat
  • gegatLepisma saccharina
Italian pesciolino d'argento
  • pesciolino d'argentoLepisma saccharina
Japanese 西洋紙魚
  • 西洋紙魚 (seiyō shimi)Lepisma saccharina
Korean 좀, 양좀
  • 좀 (jom)Lepisma saccharina
  • 양좀 (yangjom)Lepisma saccharina
Latvian sudrabainā zvīņene
  • sudrabainā zvīņeneLepisma saccharina
Malay gegat
  • gegatLepisma saccharina
Norwegian Bokmål sølvkre
  • sølvkreLepisma saccharina
Polish rybik cukrowy
  • rybik cukrowyLepisma saccharina
Portuguese traça, traça-dos-livros
  • traçaLepisma saccharina
  • traça-dos-livrosLepisma saccharina
Russian са́харная чешу́йница
  • са́харная чешу́йница (sáxarnaja češújnica)Lepisma saccharina
Slovak švehla
  • švehlaLepisma saccharina
Spanish lepisma, pececillo de plata
  • lepismaLepisma saccharina
  • pececillo de plataLepisma saccharina
Swedish silverfisk, nattsmyg
  • silverfiskLepisma saccharina
  • nattsmygLepisma saccharina
Turkish gümüşçün
  • gümüşçünLepisma saccharina
Vietnamese bọ bạc, nhậy
  • bọ bạcLepisma saccharina
  • nhậyLepisma saccharina
  • mọt sáchLepisma saccharina
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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