[syn: needlefish, gar, billfish]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Saury \Sau"ry\, n.; pl. Sauries. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zool.)
A slender marine fish (Scomberesox saurus) of Europe and
America. It has long, thin, beaklike jaws. Called also
billfish, gowdnook, gawnook, skipper, skipjack,
skopster, lizard fish, and Egypt herring.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Billfish \Bill"fish`\ (b[i^]l"f[i^]sh`), n. (Zool.)
A name applied to several distinct fishes:
(a) The garfish (Tylosurus longirostris, or Belone
longirostris) and allied species.
(b) The saury, a slender fish of the Atlantic coast
(Scomberesox saurus).
(c) The Tetrapturus albidus, a large oceanic species
related to the swordfish; the spearfish.
(d) The American fresh-water garpike (Lepidosteus osseus).
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
billfish
n 1: primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard
scales and having long jaws with needlelike teeth [syn:
gar, garfish, garpike, billfish, Lepisosteus
osseus]
2: giant warm-water game fish having a prolonged and rounded
toothless upper jaw
3: slender long-beaked fish of temperate Atlantic waters [syn:
saury, billfish, Scomberesox saurus]
4: elongate European surface-dwelling predacious fishes with
long toothed jaws; abundant in coastal waters [syn:
needlefish, gar, billfish]