pufferfish

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English puffer Proto-Indo-European *péysks Proto-Germanic *fiskaz Proto-West Germanic *fisk Old English fisċ Middle English fisch English fish English pufferfish From puffer + fish.

1. Any species of fish of the family Tetraodontidae that have the ability to inflate themselves to a globe several times their normal size by swallowing water or air when threatened; puffer, blowfish, swellfish, balloonfish, globefish.

   “Recently, however, a scientist in Britain proposed a short cut that would use the genome of the fugu, a pufferfish known as a dangerous delicacy among Japanese sushi eaters, to speed the search for human genes.”

2. The meat of these fish, a delicacy popular in Japan served raw as sushi that may, if improperly prepared, contain deadly levels of neurotoxins; (Japanese) fugu.