mad·tom
(măd′tŏm′)n. Any of several small freshwater North American catfishes of the genus Noturus, having poison glands at the base of the pectoral and dorsal fin spines.
[
mad +
tom(cat) (probably so called because the fish swim in an excited zigzag manner when agitated).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
madtom
(ˈmædˈtɒm) n (Animals) any of various North American catfish
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mad•tom
(ˈmædˈtɒm)
n. any of several small North American freshwater catfishes of the genus Noturus, having a poisonous pectoral spine.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.