Fin ray

Fin ray
Fin Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. {pen} a feather.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water. [1913 Webster]

Note: Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other fins being to balance or direct the body, though they are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing motion. [1913 Webster]

2. (Zo["o]l.) A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks. [1913 Webster]

3. A finlike organ or attachment; a part of an object or product which protrudes like a fin, as: (a) The hand. [Slang] (b) (Com.) A blade of whalebone. [Eng.] --McElrath. (c) (Mech.) A mark or ridge left on a casting at the junction of the parts of a mold. (d) (Mech.) The thin sheet of metal squeezed out between the collars of the rolls in the process of rolling. --Raymond. (e) (Mech.) A feather; a spline. [1913 Webster]

4. A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats. [1913 Webster]

5. (A["e]ronautics) A fixed stabilizing surface, usually vertical, similar in purpose to a bilge keel on a ship. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{Apidose fin}. (Zo["o]l.) See under {Adipose}, a.

{Fin ray} (Anat.), one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of fishes.

{Fin whale} (Zo["o]l.), a finback.

{Paired fins} (Zo["o]l.), the pectoral and ventral fins, corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher animals.

{Unpaired fins}, or {Median fins} (Zo["o]l.), the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • fin-ray — finˈ ray noun A horny rod supporting a fin • • • Main Entry: ↑fin …   Useful english dictionary

  • fin ray — noun : one of the horny dermal rods that form the projecting part of the skeleton of the fins of fishes * * * ray1 (def. 9b). [1860 65] * * * fin ray, a rod of cartilage or horny tissue which stiffens the fin of a fish. * * * n. see ray I (sense… …   Useful english dictionary

  • fin ray chamber — one of the compartments in the median fin fold (dorsal and ventral fin folds) into which project so called fin rays in Amphioxi …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • fin ray counts — see the fin concerned; see also fin formula …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • fin ray — ray1 (def. 9b). [1860 65] * * * …   Universalium

  • anal fin ray count — enumeration of the soft anal fin rays. In fishes where the smaller rays in front gradually grade into larger rays, these smaller anterior rays are included in the count, e.g. Ictaluridae, Esocidae, Gadidae. Where the first small rays abruptly… …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • dorsal fin ray count — enumeration of the soft dorsal fin rays. In fishes where the smaller rays in front gradually grade into larger rays, these smaller anterior rays are included in the count, e.g. Ictaluridae, Esocidae, Gadidae. Where the first small rays abruptly… …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • Fin — Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. {pen} a feather.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fin whale — Fin Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. {pen} a feather.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fin element — a fin ray, spine or pterygiophore …   Dictionary of ichthyology

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