Osmeridae

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family of fish commonly known as smelts, characterized by their slender bodies and presence in both freshwater and saltwater environments
2. A group of small, elongated fish within the order Osmeriformes, renowned for their translucent skin and often found in cold waters
3. A family of fish species that includes various smelt types, distinguished by their schooling behavior and significance in commercial fisheries

Etymology: The name begins with the smell. The genus "Osmerus," which gave the family its name, comes from Greek "osmē," meaning "smell" or "odour," a reference to the fresh cucumber-like scent that the flesh of the European smelt is said to give off. The family name then takes the zoological suffix "-idae," a Latinised form of a Greek patronymic ending that marks a family named after a type genus. So the family is named for one genus rather than for a shared quality of its members. The fish were classified in the same family because their shared features, including a distinctive scent and a tendency to school, set them apart from other fish. Its members are mostly small, silvery, schooling fish of cold northern and Pacific waters, and many are caught in large numbers for food and bait.

Synonyms: smelts