Dogfish
/ˈdɒɡˌfɪʃ/noun
A small shark, especially one of the spiny dogfish or related species.
Did you know?The name dogfish is a blunt folk label from English, not a secret occult term, but it shows how ordinary people used animal names to rank creatures with almost ritual-like contempt.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
docga
“a powerful breed of dog; later generalized to dog”
Old English
OE
fisc
“fish”
15th Century
English
dogge-fyshe
“a fish or shark thought to resemble a dog in some way, or treated as a rough, lowly sea creature”
Early Modern English
English
dogfish
“a small shark; the name becomes fixed in common usage”
Modern English
English
dogfish
“a small shark, especially a spiny dogfish or related species”