Anadromous
Adjective
- (Of a fish such as the salmon) Migrating up rivers from the sea to spawn.
Example Sentences
“Oregon’s Willamette River contains many anadromous fish.”
“Anadromous creatures spend part of their life in fresh water and part in the ocean.”
“Salmon’s anadromous nature lends itself to metaphors about difficulty.”
Word Origin
Greek, mid-18th century
Why this word?
The adjective “anadromous” is demonstrated by a common metaphor for difficult activities: fish swimming against the current, or swimming upstream. “Anadromous” comes from the Greek “anadromos,” with “ana-” meaning “up” and “dromos” meaning “running.” Anadromous fish, such as Chinook salmon, are born in fresh water and migrate to the ocean as juveniles. Then they grow into adults before migrating back into fresh water to spawn. The direct opposite of “anadromous” is “catadromous.” Catadromous species, such as American eels, are born in salt water, migrate into fresh water as juveniles, grow into adults, then migrate back into the ocean to spawn.
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