Spurdog

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, spiny dogfish shark of temperate coastal waters, often caught by anglers and sometimes eaten as food
2. A slender shark belonging to the dogfish family, recognizable by the sharp spines in front of its dorsal fins
3. Small coastal shark of the dogfish group, found in cool seas and known for its defensive dorsal spines

Etymology: The spurdog is a small spiny shark, and its name is a compound of "spur" and "dog." The "spur" element is the sharp spine that these sharks carry in front of each dorsal fin, a defensive weapon that can inflict painful wounds on anyone who handles them carelessly. The "dog" element is the usual English name for a range of smaller sharks, which is why the word reads as a shark that is "a dog" with a spur. The compound is transparent in a way many fish names are not: the two parts describe the animal's most distinctive feature and its general category, and nothing about the name requires a special story to explain it. Its origin is simply a descriptive pairing of two common English words.

Synonyms: dogfish, spiny dogfish