# salmon

Pronunciation: say "SA-muhn" /ˈsæmən/

## Noun

1. A silvery-sided fish of the Salmoninae subfamily, brownish above and pink-fleshed, that swims up rivers to spawn.
   - Simple: A large fish with silvery sides and pink-orange flesh that swims up rivers to lay eggs.
   - _Each spring, wild salmon return from the ocean to the streams where they hatched._
   - _A single salmon fought its way over the rapids toward its spawning ground._
2. The pink-orange flesh of this river-spawning fish, eaten as food, whether cooked, smoked, cured or raw.
   - Simple: The pink-orange meat of this fish, eaten as food, cooked, smoked or raw.
   - _The restaurant serves smoked salmon on toasted brown bread._
   - _He poached the salmon in white wine and fresh herbs._
4. A pale pinkish-orange color, the shade of cooked salmon flesh.
   - Simple: A pale pink-orange color, like the inside of cooked fish.
   - _The designer chose salmon for the nursery curtains._
   - _Her gown was a delicate salmon that glowed under the lights._
5. Canned fish, usually mackerel, sold under the name rather than being the true river fish. *(Sri Lanka)*
   - Simple: Canned fish, usually mackerel rather than the real river fish.
   - _In Sri Lanka, a can of salmon usually holds mackerel, which cooks quickly into a spicy curry._
   - _The cheap salmon in the cupboard was really mackerel._
7. Tobacco, from the rhyming slang "salmon and trout" for snout. *(dialectal, Cockney)*
   - Simple: Tobacco, in slang use.

## Adjective

3. Pale pinkish-orange in color, resembling the flesh of cooked salmon.
   - Simple: Having a pale pink-orange color.
   - _They painted the cottage walls a soft salmon shade._
   - _His tie was salmon, picking up the flowers on the table._

## Verb

6. To ride a bicycle against the legal flow of traffic on a one-way street. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To ride a bike the wrong way down a one-way street.
   - _He likes to salmon along the avenue to save a few minutes._
   - _Cyclists who salmon during rush hour frustrate oncoming drivers._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The upper bricks in a kiln, which receive the least heat during firing.

## Origin

From Middle English samoun, borrowed through Anglo-Norman and Old French saumon from Latin salmō. It largely replaced the native English word lax (from Old English leax). The silent 'l' was inserted later to make the word resemble its Latin root, much like in debt, indict, and receipt.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/salmon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).