Another name for a gar, a long, slender freshwater fish with a pointed snout and sharp teeth.
From gar (Old English gār, 'spear') + pike (a pointed weapon, but also a type of fish with a similar shape). The compound describes both the fish's appearance and its relation to the pike family.
Garpike is a beautifully descriptive compound—combining two weapon names (gar-spear and pike) to describe a fish that looks like both, it shows how our ancestors named animals after weapons they resembled.
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