catflap.org Online Dictionary Query

  Shark \Shark\, n. [Of uncertain origin; perhaps through OF. fr.
     carcharus a kind of dogfish, Gr. karchari`as, so called from
     its sharp teeth, fr. ka`rcharos having sharp or jagged teeth;
     or perhaps named from its rapacity (cf. Shark, v. t. & i.);
     cf. Corn. scarceas.]
     1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch
        fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark,
           grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty
           feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in
           length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are
           exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly
           belong to the genera Carcharhinus, Carcharodon, and
           related genera. They have several rows of large sharp
           teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark
           ({Carcharodon carcharias or Carcharodon Rondeleti)
           of tropical seas, and the great blue shark
           ({Carcharhinus glaucus) of all tropical and temperate
           seas. The former sometimes becomes thirty-six feet
           long, and is the most voracious and dangerous species
           known. The rare man-eating shark of the United States
           coast ({Charcarodon Atwoodi) is thought by some to be
           a variety, or the young, of C. carcharias. The dusky
           shark ({Carcharhinus obscurus), and the smaller blue
           shark ({C. caudatus), both common species on the coast
           of the United States, are of moderate size and not
           dangerous. They feed on shellfish and bottom fishes.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark.
        [Obs.] --South.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Baskin shark, Liver shark, Nurse shark, Oil shark,
     Sand shark, Tiger shark, etc. See under Basking,
        Liver, etc. See also Dogfish, Houndfish,
        Notidanian, and Tope.
  
     Gray shark, the sand shark.
  
     Hammer-headed shark. See Hammerhead.
  
     Port Jackson shark. See Cestraciont.
  
     Shark barrow, the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse.
  
     Shark ray. Same as Angel fish
        (a), under Angel.
  
     Thrasher shark or Thresher shark, a large, voracious
        shark. See Thrasher.
  
     Whale+shark,+a+huge+harmless+shark+({Rhinodon+typicus" rel="nofollow">Whale shark, a huge harmless shark ({Rhinodon typicus) of
        the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length,
        but has very small teeth.
        [1913 Webster]

  Thrasher \Thrash"er\, Thresher \Thresh"er\, n.
     1. One who, or that which, thrashes grain; a thrashing
        machine.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zo["o]l.) A large and voracious shark ({Alopias vulpes),
        remarkable for the great length of the upper lobe of its
        tail, with which it beats, or thrashes, its prey. It is
        found both upon the American and the European coasts.
        Called also fox shark, sea ape, sea fox, slasher,
        swingle-tail, and thrasher shark.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Zo["o]l.) A name given to the brown thrush and other
        allied species. See Brown thrush.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Sage thrasher. (Zo["o]l.) See under Sage.
  
     Thrasher whale (Zo["o]l.), the common killer of the
        Atlantic.
        [1913 Webster]

  Thrasher \Thrash"er\, Thresher \Thresh"er\, n.
     1. One who, or that which, thrashes grain; a thrashing
        machine.
  
     2. (Zo["o]l.) A large and voracious shark ({Alopias vulpes),
        remarkable for the great length of the upper lobe of its
        tail, with which it beats, or thrashes, its prey. It is
        found both upon the American and the European coasts.
        Called also fox shark, sea ape, sea fox, slasher,
        swingle-tail, and thrasher shark.
  
     3. (Zo["o]l.) A name given to the brown thrush and other
        allied species. See Brown thrush.
  
     Sage thrasher. (Zo["o]l.) See under Sage.
  
     Thrasher whale (Zo["o]l.), the common killer of the
        Atlantic.