fresh watern.adj.
/ˈfrɛʃ ˌwɔːtə/, U.S. /ˈfrɛʃ ˌwɔdər/, /ˈfrɛʃ ˌwɑdər/ A. n.
1. As a count noun (usually in plural): a river, lake, or other body of inland water that is fresh, not salt.
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α.
β. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xiii. xxii. 673 For cause of many ryuers and of fresshe watres þat comeþ þerto þat see is more fresshe and more misty.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxii. 1 He..ledeth me to a fresh water.1654 Mercurius Politicus No. 202. 3444 The United Provinces of the Low Countries, of the other part, their Lands, Countries, Cities, Towns, Dominions, Territories, Places, and People by Sea, Land, Fresh-waters and elsewhere.1820–5 J. Sowerby & G. B. Sowerby Genera Recent & Fossil Shells 182 Valvata... Found only, as far as hitherto we have been able to learn, in ditches, lakes and other freshwaters in the northern hemisphere.1952 G. F. Hervey & J. Hems Freshwater Trop. Aquarium Fishes iii. 34 Lemna (Duckweed). Altogether there are twelve species of this genus, of which four are native to British freshwaters.2017 Ecol. Applic. 27 2250/1 They continue to experience many of the common threats to freshwaters including land use changes, environmental pollution, invasive species, and climate change.eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. iv. 43 Eufrate þa ea, seo is mæst eallra ferscra wætera.., he hie eac mid gedelfe on monige ea upp forlet.
c1300 St. Michael (Laud) l. 597 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 316 Þe sonne..makez þe wateres breþi up-riȝt..Boþe þe sees an ferchse wateres.
2. Water that is not salty or brackish (as opposed to salt water); water containing a very low concentration of dissolved salts.
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the world > matter > liquid > water > [noun] > fresh
fresh waterOE
sweet-water1608
α.
β. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. ii. 895 An ey synkeþ anon in freissh water and swymmeþ in salt water.a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Fresh The ferthe day freis water and se Sal bren als fir.c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 39 Of fysschyng of freschwatyr & of salt watyr þe tythe owȝte to be payed.1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias vii. 19 Our men quietly landed and tooke in fresh water.1670 J. Winthrop Let. 28 Oct. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) IV. 186 There is a great Pond of fresh water, in which were severall sorts of fish.1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. ii. 154 These birds frequent fresh water, as well as the sea.1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 235 Throwing into large quantities of pure fresh water a few drops of volatile oil.1878 T. H. Huxley Physiogr. (ed. 2) 73 The great stream of fresh water which flows over Teddington Weir.1961 E. S. Herald Living Fishes of World 193/2 The fingerfishes, of which there are about five species, live in both salt and fresh water.2012 ‘Gentle Author’ Spitalfields Life 274/2 The Roman army arrived..to secure a source of fresh water. This was the wellspring of the River Walbrook.OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §16. 234 Hie..cwædon þæt we fundon sumne swiðe micelne mere in þæm wære fersc wæter & swete genog.
a1325 St. Michael (Corpus Cambr.) l. 597 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 422 Þe sonne..Boþe se and verss water he draweþ up þe breþ.
B. adj. Usually hyphenated or as one word.
1.
a. Of, relating to, or living in water that is fresh or not salt.
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the world > animals > by habitat > [adjective] > aquatic > freshwater
fresh waterc1450
the world > the earth > water > [adjective] > fresh water
fresh water1672
c1450 Treat. Fishing in J. McDonald et al. Origins of Angling (1963) 169 Ye know with wat baytys ye schall angle to euery maner freche watur fyche.
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. O iij The best freshe water fyshe..is taken in water stonye in the bottum.
1672 R. Boyle Hydrostatical Disc. ii. v. 84 in Tracts Divers, who in the mid'st of the Sea, though the salt water of that be much heavier than that of freshwater Rivers, do not find themselves oppress'd.
1765 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 (ed. 2) v. 465 Pearch, and other freshwater fish.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. ii. 23 The fresh-water polypus.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 49 Animals..bred in the numerous fresh-water lakes.
1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 238 Fresh-water flowers of several colours.
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man 142 Land and fresh-water shells, are common to both formations.
1875 J. Croll Climate & Time xxix. 485 We suppose those in the western channel to be of freshwater origin.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 394/1 Fresh water and marine molluscs are also very numerous. While most of the species are of interest chiefly to the conchologist, there are a number of edible forms.
1994 Travel Guide 1994 Newfoundland & Labrador 152/2 Glass tanks give you a close-up view of the fascinating and complex world of freshwater ecology.
2014 G. Vince Adventures in Anthropocene iii. 71 Hundreds of thousands of species have evolved to rely for all or part of their lifecycles on freshwater bodies, from the trickling source of a mountain stream,..to the wide-open, sediment-flooded wetlands and deltas.
b. U.S. Of a college: inland; small, provincial, little-known; (of a person) that lives in or comes from a small, provincial town. Now dated.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [adjective] > remote or outlying
out of the wayc1175
uplandishc1380
foreign1424
outland1500
outlying1651
outsetting1658
back country1775
out-of-the-world1775
outlandish1792
outworld1808
upcountry1810
backwoodish1836
fresh water1860
backwoodsy1862
way back1884
outstate1911
upstate1935
1860 O. W. Holmes Professor's Story vii, in Atlantic Monthly Apr. 474/1 A Sophomore from one of the fresh-water colleges.
1881 Harper's Mag. Jan. 224/1 ‘There is enough to send him through college.’.. ‘In a fresh-water college?’.. ‘Why not, for a fresh-water boy? He will always live in the West.’
1903 C. T. Brady Bishop xii. 230 He had just entered the preparatory class of a little Eastern Fresh-water college.
1963 Punch 17 Apr. 548/1 A very great improvement in the standard and aims of even quite small ‘freshwater colleges’.
1991 Sunday Tel. (Nashua, New Hampsh.) 17 Mar. g6/5 People will gradually see the value of some little freshwater college like Hope or Beloit.
2. † a. Of a person: unpractised, unskilled, untrained; raw, inexperienced. Obsolete.Earliest in freshwater soldier n. 1.
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the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adjective] > inexperienced
youngOE
unfraisted?a1400
rudec1489
raw1534
unfleshed1542
untraded1542
fresh water?1548
unpractised1551
unexperienced1569
unacquainted1581
prenticea1586
fresh-watered1590
unsifted1604
unseen1606
unexperient1609
inexperienced1626
low water1643
inexperient1670
unproficient1794
nyoung1852
punk1907
raggedy-ass1930
?1548 J. Ramsay Corosyfe sig. A.v We maye be well callede freshe water souldiours, not able to..abyde one storme for oure lordes sake.
a1652 R. Brome Weeding of Covent-Garden v. iii. 89 in Five New Playes (1659) Those Letter-carriers that know not so much as the termes of discipline, what a Flanker is, Nor a Raveling is, [etc.]... How can such fresh-water Captains command?
1677 T. Middleton Appendix 15 in J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (ed. 4) The Tironenses..are not a distinct Order of Monks, but rather young Novices, or fresh-water Monks.
a1754 H. Fielding Jrnl. Voy. Lisbon (1755) Pref. p. xiv Ignorant, unlearned, and fresh-water critics.
b. Esp. of a sailor: unaccustomed to seafaring; inexperienced at sea, new to the sea. In later use more literally: accustomed to lakes or rivers rather than the sea.In quot. 1567 with reference to a beggar pretending to be a former sailor (cf. whip-jack n.).
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society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > types of sailor > [adjective] > unaccustomed to seafaring
fresh water1567
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. D.ii These Fresh water Mariners their shipes were drowned in the playne of Salisbury.
1659 D. Pell Πελαγος 515 Fresh-water travellers at Sea.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 9 You're but a fresh Water Sailor.
1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 26 A considerable deal of bustle occurs amongst the fresh-water sailors of these countries.
1943 Newcastle (New S. Wales) Sun 26 July 3/6 He had been taunted with being a ‘freshwater sailor’ because he had nothing to show that he had ever been in service.
1998 J. Grant & R. Jones Legendary Lighthouses 168 As experienced freshwater sailors know only too well, it [sc. a lake] is highly temperamental and its surface it frequently torn by raging storms.
3. Caribbean (chiefly Trinidad). Somewhat derogatory. Of a person: that speaks with a foreign accent or adopts foreign characteristics, often without ever having been to the foreign country; esp. designating a person who speaks with an American accent or adopts other American characteristics, without ever having been to the United States. Chiefly in freshwater American, freshwater Yankee.
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1906 Penny Cuts (Trinidad & Tobago) 17 Feb. 3/1 These great freshwater Nobles were engaged thrice weekly in treating their patrons, well wishers, and partisans with their so called compositions.
1987 TnT Mirror 31 July 32 in L. Winer Dict. Eng./Creole Trinidad & Tobago (2009) 365/2 If [he] is serious, he would kick these ‘fresh-water’ Americans off our television, and get young nationals who are proud of our music and culture to replace them.
2000 R. Maharaj Lagahoo's Apprentice (2001) iii. 36 These blasted fresh-water Yankee. Spend two months in a iceberg and come back here like if they own the place.
2016 @supertrash18 10 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 19 Aug. 2020) This girl gone from Penal coolie to freshwater yankee without leaving the country yes.
Compounds
C1. In the names of animals and plants living in or near fresh water. Cf. Compounds 2freshwater shark: see the second element.Cf. freshwater soldier n. 2.
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1543 B. Traheron tr. J. de Vigo Most Excellent Wks. Chirurg. ii. ii. f. xlv/2 The poudre of fresh water creuyses dryed in an ouen.
1674 J. Josselyn Acct. Two Voy. 111 The Eal is of two sorts, salt-water Eals and fresh-water Eals; these again are distinguished into yellow bellied Eals and silver bellied Eals.
1798 Sporting Mag. 12 183 The Bull-head..is in some places called the fresh-water devil.
1895 Argosy Sept. 516/1 Notable among this class of nest builders are the dace, the fresh water chub, as well as fresh and salt water eels.
1988 Castanea 53 61 Response patterns in salt meadow cordgrass were very similar to those of freshwater cordgrass.
2017 ‘Charlamagne tha God’ Black Privilege 236 Freshwater Geechee live inland and Saltwater Geechee live closer to the coast.
C2.
freshwater drum n. a deep-bodied sciaenid fish, Aplodinotus grunniens, found commonly in fresh water in North and Central America.Also called bubbler, sheepshead, etc.
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1876 G. B. Goode Classif. Coll. Animal Resources U.S. (Bull. U.S. National Mus. No. 6) 63 Fishes, (fresh waters:) Burbot or lawyer, (Lota maculosa.) Fresh-water drum, (Haploidonotus grunniens.) [etc.]
1963 Daily Times-News (Burlington, N. Carolina) 19 Oct. 2 a/7 The fresh-water drum, sometimes erroneously called sheepshead, is one of our largest fresh-water species.
2002 Nebraskaland May 15/1 Fishing is also available for walleye, sauger, white bass and freshwater drum.
2019 P. E. Bugas et al. Field Guide Freshwater Fishes Virginia 174 Freshwater Drum is native to the Tennessee River drainage and introduced to Kerr Reservoir, where the current state record of 26 lb., 8 oz. was caught.
freshwater herring n. any of various freshwater fishes thought to resemble a herring.Examples include the common dace ( Leuciscus leuciscus), various kinds of whitefish (genus Coregonus), and the endemic Australian fish Potamalosa richmondia.
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1694 R. Franck Northern Mem. 288 The Dace or Dare is the Fresh-water Herring; a Fish that is common and constant; one that loves to divert himself, and is the Angler's Diversion: for it's rare to come to the Waterside, and find him out of Humour to bite.
1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 262 It does not abound with many sorts of Fish, but those that are are very good, such as Salmon, Trout, Pike, Breame, Roch, Eels and Pollans, with which last it does abound: The English call them fresh Water Herrings, for want of another Name; for Pollan is an Irish Name.
1865 J. Couch Hist. Fishes Brit. Islands IV. 292 An attempt to obtain examples of the Pollan in Ireland was met with the reply that no fish was known by that name, although..it was discovered that the Fresh-water Herring was familiarly known to every one.
2006 F. Prokop Austral. Fish Guide (2010) ii. 38 The freshwater herring is an attractive silvery fish with the characteristic ventral scutes (serrations) of the true herrings.
2007 E. Palmer Sc. Canoe Classics 103 Cowal has some of the finest loch and mountain scenery in Scotland, including Loch Eck with a prehistoric freshwater herring.
freshwater lobster n. a crayfish.
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1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 42 The lobster casts his shell much in the same manner as the river crayfish, which are a species of fresh-water lobsters.
1847 J. Johnson Jrnl. 5 Jan. in N. M. Taylor Early Travellers N.Z. (1959) 152 A small settlement, occupied in the summer for the purpose of catching gorau, a species of cray-fish, or rather fresh water lobster.
2004 W. Macdonald Test of Will i. 70 A movement under my foot catches my eye: the unmistakable form of a freshwater lobster.
freshwater pearl n. a pearl from any of various freshwater mussels of the family Unionidae, typically having an irregular shape; cf. river pearl n.
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1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes IV. vi. xi. 1249 Some bad fresh-water pearles I found there: which were nothing round, Orient, nor very great. I brought of them with me to the Spaniards; and they said they were no Pearles, but Topasses.
1829 tr. C. Malte-Brun Universal Geogr. VII. cxxv. 458 Many fresh water pearls are collected in the Moldau the Elster and other rivers.
2013 P. Knipple & A. Knipple Farm Fresh Tennessee 42 The farm manager will also demonstrate shucking a mussel to reveal the freshwater pearl inside.
freshwater shrimp n. any of various small slender-bodied freshwater crustaceans of the amphipod family Gammaridae and (in later use also) the decapod infraorder Caridea.
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1747 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 44 533 The fresh Water Shrimp, which I have kept several times and observed, their Shells are put off without any other Breach than one.
1893 T. R. R. Stebbing Hist. Crustacea xvii. 247 This is another of the freshwater shrimps of Mexico. They frequently attain a length of two feet.
1935 Biol. Bull. 68 247 Welsh..first reported a daily rhythm in the crustacean eye..in two species of Macrobrachium, fresh water shrimp.
2000 Guardian 8 Jan. i. 23/6 I waded into a local stream purely for the purpose of collecting water hoglice and freshwater shrimps.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adjective] > inexperienced
youngOE
unfraisted?a1400
rudec1489
raw1534
unfleshed1542
untraded1542
fresh water?1548
unpractised1551
unexperienced1569
unacquainted1581
prenticea1586
fresh-watered1590
unsifted1604
unseen1606
unexperient1609
inexperienced1626
low water1643
inexperient1670
unproficient1794
nyoung1852
punk1907
raggedy-ass1930
1590 E. Jenynges Briefe Discouery Damages Disordered & Vnlawfull Diet 12 Yet the most part of them..may be accompted but freshe watered souldiers not able to doe suche seruice at the first as shall be necessarie, for want of skill, nor able to abide the Seas in suche labour for want of vse.
1674 S. Vincent Young Gallant's Acad. Ep. Ded. sig. A5v Commanders will not disdain to instruct even a fresh-watered Souldier in the School-points of War.
a1683 P. Warwick Mem. Reign Charles I (1701) 41 He had changed the army there into fresh-watered souldiers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.eOE