catadromic
|cat-a-dro-mic|
🇺🇸
/ˌkætəˈdrɑːmɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌkætəˈdrɒmɪk/
downward sea-bound migration
Etymology
'catadromic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'katadromos', where 'kata-' meant 'down' and 'dromos' meant 'running' or 'course'.
'catadromic' entered scientific/technical English via New Latin/modern coinage (compare New Latin 'catadromus' or English 'catadromous'), ultimately formed from Greek elements and adopted into English as 'catadromic'.
Initially the Greek compound described a 'down-running' course; in modern biological English it came to mean 'migrating down to the sea to spawn'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or exhibiting catadromy — migrating downriver or toward the sea to spawn (used of certain fish, e.g. eels).
The freshwater eel is catadromic: it grows in rivers and returns to the sea to spawn.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/23 18:56