silverfish
/ˈsɪlvə(ɹ)fɪʃ/noun
silverfish is spelled S-I-L-V-E-R-F-I-S-H: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 87,317th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, silverfish means “A small wingless insect of species Lepisma saccharinum, with silvery scales; a type of bristletail” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of silverfish is silverfishes.
How many letters and syllables are in silverfish?
| Letters | 10: S-I-L-V-E-R-F-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 87,317th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is silverfish?
Silverfish appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 87,317th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce silverfish?
- /ˈsɪlvə(ɹ)fɪʃ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-silverfish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of silverfish
- silverfishes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does silverfish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small wingless insect of species Lepisma saccharinum, with silvery scales; a type of bristletail.
- 2
Ctenolepisma lineata (four-lined silverfish).
- 3
Ctenolepisma longicaudata (grey silverfish).
- 4
Megalops atlanticus (Atlantic tarpon, tarpum).
- 5
Raiamas senegalensis (silver fish).
- 6
Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum.
- 7
A white variety of the goldfish.
- 8
Aphareus rutilans (rusty jobfish)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Silverfish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Lepisma saccharina:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | poisson d'argent |
| German | Silberfischchen, Fischchen, Silberfisch, Zuckergast |
| Portuguese | traça, traça-dos-livros |
| Spanish | lepisma, pececillo de plata |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does silverfish come from?
From silver + fish: from its appearance, in the case of the insect.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).