Ichthyotoxic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Referring to agents that are harmful or fatal to fish species
2. Pertaining to materials that have toxic effects on aquatic organisms, primarily fish
3. Describing substances or chemicals that cause poisoning or death in fish

Etymology: "Ichthyotoxic" is a plain technical compound, built from two Greek-derived parts. The first, "ichthyo-", comes from Greek "ichthys", meaning "fish", and appears in scientific coinages such as ichthyology, the study of fish. The second, "toxic", comes from Greek "toxikon", the poison in which arrows were dipped, and entered English through French and Latin as a word for poisonous substances. Joined together, the pieces describe something that is poisonous to fish, and the combination follows the same pattern as older scientific terms formed from Greek roots. Such compounds were coined by naturalists and chemists writing in English and other European languages, so the word reflects modern scientific vocabulary rather than any everyday usage in classical times.