sturgeon

From Middle English sturgiun, sturjoun, from Old French estorjoun (“sturgeon”), from Old Frankish *sturjō, from Proto-Germanic *sturjô (“sturgeon”); see also Old High German sturio (“sturgeon”) and Old English styria; from Proto-Germanic *sturjô; cognate with Russian осётр (osjótr, “sturgeon”), Lithuanian eršketras; of obscure origin, but possibly related to the root of stir. Other theories trace it to a lost pre-Indo European language of Scandinavia.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstɝdʒən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɜːdʒən/

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒən

sturgeon (plural sturgeon or sturgeons)

1. Any marine or freshwater fish of the family Acipenseridae that are prized for their roe and are endemic to temperate seas and rivers of the northern hemisphere, especially central Eurasia.
   • 1961, W. N. Holmes, Edward M. Donaldson, 1: Body Compartments and the Distribution of Electrolytes, William Stewart Hoar, David J. Randall (editors), Fish Physiology, Volume 1, page 57,

     An investigation has been carried out into the changes in blood chemistry which occur during the migration of young sturgeon and spawned adults from freshwater into saltwater and of the migration of prespawning adults in the reverse direction by Magnin (1962).

   • 1997, M. L. Khrykhtin, V. G. Svirsky, Sturgeon catch and the current status of sturgeon stocks in the Amur River, Andreas Bauer, Astrid Kaiser-Pohlmann, Sturgeon Stocks and Caviar Trade Workshop: Proceedings, page 29,

     Strict regulation of the catch was introduced in the Soviet Union in 1976 in order to prevent overfishing of the sexually mature sturgeons in the river.

   • 2002, Elizabeth Grossman, Watershed: The Undamming of America, page 41,

     Long and snout-nosed with rows of platelike bony protrusions, sturgeon have a dinosaur-era look.

   • 2006, Richard N. Williams, James A. Lichatowich, Madison S. Powell, 4: The Diversity, Structure and Status of Populations, Richard N. Williams (editor), Return to the River: Restoring Salmon Back to the Columbia River, page 156,

     Information on the spawning period, spawning behavior, and other details of the reproductive biology of green sturgeon in the Columbia River is lacking (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 1995).

   • 2006, Samuel M. McGinnis, Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of California, Revised Edition, page 139,

     Only about one out of every 80 sturgeons caught in the Sacramento River is a Green Sturgeon, and that lopsided ratio is reversed for sturgeons taken in the Klamath River.

   • 2010, Molly Aloian, The Yangtze: China's Majestic River, page 22,

     In 2009, 120,000 Chinese sturgeons were released into the Yangtze River in an effort to boost the population of the endangered species in the wild.

• (fish of family Acipenseridae): acipenserid

• lake sturgeon
• Russian sturgeon
• starry sturgeon
• Sturgeon Bay

• acipenserine
• caviar
• isinglass

• gournets

sturgeon m (oblique plural sturgeons, nominative singular sturgeons, nominative plural sturgeon)

1. Alternative spelling of estorjoun