Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A freshwater or anadromous food and game fish (Oncorhynchus mykiss) native to western North America, having a reddish longitudinal band and black spots.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A variety or subspecies of the Californian Salmo gairdneri, specifically called
S. irideus . It is closely related to the brook-trout of Europe, but not to that of the United States.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A species of
trout ,Salmo gairdneri , that has black spots and a pink streak running along the body.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun flesh of Pacific trout that migrate from salt to fresh water
- noun found in Pacific coastal waters and streams from lower California to Alaska
Etymologies
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treeseed commented on the word rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States. The rainbow trout are unusual in that there are two forms which sometimes share the same habitat. The anadromous form called "steelhead" migrate to the ocean, though they must return to fresh water to reproduce.
The freshwater form is called "rainbow trout", based on the broad red band along their sides. Steelhead are exactly the same species as rainbow trout. However, the difference is anadromy. After going to sea, their color changes, including loss of the red band. They stay at sea for 1-4 years, and return to fresh water to spawn. Rainbows stay in fresh water their whole lives.
_Wikipedia
February 24, 2008