Median fins

Median fins
Fin Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. {pen} a feather.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water. [1913 Webster]

Note: Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other fins being to balance or direct the body, though they are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing motion. [1913 Webster]

2. (Zo["o]l.) A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks. [1913 Webster]

3. A finlike organ or attachment; a part of an object or product which protrudes like a fin, as: (a) The hand. [Slang] (b) (Com.) A blade of whalebone. [Eng.] --McElrath. (c) (Mech.) A mark or ridge left on a casting at the junction of the parts of a mold. (d) (Mech.) The thin sheet of metal squeezed out between the collars of the rolls in the process of rolling. --Raymond. (e) (Mech.) A feather; a spline. [1913 Webster]

4. A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats. [1913 Webster]

5. (A["e]ronautics) A fixed stabilizing surface, usually vertical, similar in purpose to a bilge keel on a ship. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{Apidose fin}. (Zo["o]l.) See under {Adipose}, a.

{Fin ray} (Anat.), one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of fishes.

{Fin whale} (Zo["o]l.), a finback.

{Paired fins} (Zo["o]l.), the pectoral and ventral fins, corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher animals.

{Unpaired fins}, or {Median fins} (Zo["o]l.), the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • median fin — one of those fins located on the sagittal plane of the body, the dorsal, caudal and anal fins. Also called perissopterygium …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • Paired fins — Fin Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. {pen} a feather.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Unpaired fins — Fin Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. {pen} a feather.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • vertical fins — the dorsal, caudal and anal fins (as opposed to the paired fins). Also called median fins …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • fish — fishless, adj. /fish/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) fish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) fishes, v. n. 1. any of various cold blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with …   Universalium

  • Fish — /fish/, n. Hamilton, 1808 93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869 77. * * * I Any of more than 24,000 species of cold blooded vertebrates found worldwide in fresh and salt water. Living species range from the primitive lampreys and hagfishes… …   Universalium

  • Ichthyology terms — Ichthyology uses several terms that are unique to the science.Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z NOTOC A * Abdomen: belly * Abdominal: pertaining to the belly * Actinosts: a series of bones at the base of the pectoral… …   Wikipedia

  • eel — eellike, adj. eely, adj. /eel/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) eel, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) eels. 1. any of numerous elongated, snakelike marine or freshwater fishes of the order Apodes, having no ventral fins. 2. any of… …   Universalium

  • Opah — Temporal range: Late Miocene to Present[1] Lampris guttatus Scientific classification …   Wikipedia

  • crossopterygian — /kro sop teuh rij ee euhn/, n. 1. any fish of the group Crossopterygii, extinct except for the coelacanth, regarded as being ancestral to amphibians and other land vertebrates. adj. 2. pertaining to or resembling a crossopterygian. [1860 65; < NL …   Universalium

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