• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / How did the halibut get its name and Where does the word “halibut” come from?

How did the halibut get its name and Where does the word “halibut” come from?

April 29, 2020 by Karen Hill

In Old English the common name for any of the flatfish, skate, turbot, plaice, flounder, or whatever, was “butt.”

The most highly regarded of all, however, the one that was reserved for eating upon holy days, was the largest of the flatfishes, so large that fish weighing three and four hundred pounds are not uncommon, running up to seven or eight feet in length.

This they named the haly butt, for haly was the old-time spelling of holy.

The consumption of the halibut is no longer limited to feast days of the Church, despite our designation of the fish as “the holy flounder.”

Related Facts

  • How did the Halibut get its name and Where does the word Halibut come from?
  • How Did Pepsi Get Its Name and Where Did the Name Pepsi Cola Come From?
  • How did America get its name and Where did the name America come from?
  • How did the fiddler crab get its name and Where did the name fiddler crab come from?
  • How Did the Chesapeake Bay Get Its Name and Where Does the Name "Chesapeake" Come From?
  • How did "daddy longlegs" get its name and Where does the name daddy longlegs come from?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “halcyon” originate and What does halcyon days mean?
Next Post: Where does the word “hyacinth” come from and What does hyacinth mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy