lamprey
/ˈlampri
/noun (plural lampreys)
An eel-like aquatic jawless vertebrate that has a sucker mouth with horny teeth and a rasping tongue. The adult is often parasitic, attaching itself to other fish and sucking their blood.
- Family Petromyzonidae: several genera and species.
- Modern adult lampreys measure anywhere from about 6 to 40 inches long.
- Several fish, such as the sea lamprey, Atlantic sturgeon, alewife, Atlantic salmon and American eel live most of their lives in the ocean but enter freshwater to spawn.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French lampreie, from medieval Latin lampreda, probably from Latin lambere 'to lick' + petra 'stone' (because the lamprey attaches itself to stones by its mouth).