Minnows

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gudgeon \Gud"geon\ (g[u^]j"[u^]n), n. [OE. gojon, F. goujon,
     from L. gobio, or gobius, Gr. kwbio`s Cf. {1st Goby}. ]
     1. (Zool.) A small European freshwater fish ({Gobio
        fluviatilis}), allied to the carp. It is easily caught and
        often used for food and for bait. In America the
        {killifishes} or {minnows} are often called gudgeons.


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     2. What may be got without skill or merit.
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              Fish not, with this melancholy bait,
              For this fool gudgeon, this opinion.  --Shak.
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     3. A person easily duped or cheated. --Swift.
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     4. (Mach.) The pin of iron fastened in the end of a wooden
        shaft or axle, on which it turns; formerly, any journal,
        or pivot, or bearing, as the pintle and eye of a hinge,
        but esp. the end journal of a horizontal.
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     6. (Naut.) A metal eye or socket attached to the sternpost to
        receive the pintle of the rudder.
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     {Ball gudgeon}. See under {Ball}.
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