# "Squid"--origin of the word

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 18, 1999, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495 "1999-10-18T20:32:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 1999, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495/1 "1999-10-18T20:32:00Z")

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It’s unknown (OED).

While some nieces (ages 6 and 4) were talking to me about “The Little Mermaid,” they mentioned the octopus, to which I dutifully told them that what the word actually meant.

Then I told them about another sea critter called the squid, which had ten arms, not just eight.

One then asked “What does ‘squid’ mean?”

I was stumped.

I didn’t know.

So I went digging. I found that the origin is unknown–that “squid” first appeared in 1613. Before that, they were called “cuttlefish.”

OK, so what does “cuttlefish” mean?

Guess what–it’s unknown, too (also, OED).

End of search.

My own WAGs (i.e., I have absolutely NO evidence for it) about “squid” and “cuttlefish:”

“Squid” is related to “squishy” or “squirt.” One of the other names for “squid” was “ink-fish,” so “squirt” is a way to describe both what they do with ink, and what they do with water as they propel themselves thru it. Their texture is somewhat “squishy,” so you have a “squishy, squirting” “fish.”

“Cuttlefish,” I think, is possibly related to an old word for “knife,” probably describing the “bone” that gives squids support. (Yeah, yeah, I know it’s not literally a “bone.”) The Spanish word for “squid” (“calamar”) owes its origins to the Latin word for “reed,” also, probably because of the bone.

OK, just some pointless, mundane amateur word spelunking I thought I’d share.

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**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 1999, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495/2 "1999-10-18T23:56:00Z")

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M.: A check in my Collins Dictionary comes up with the same conclusion concerning the squid (i.e. origin unknown). As for cuttlefish (shortened to cuttle):

“Old English _cudele_: related to Old High German _klot_ bag. Norwegian dialect _kaule_ cuttle, Old English _codd_ bag.”

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**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 1999, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495/3 "1999-10-19T03:31:00Z")

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Ditto Oxford Dictionary: _17th c. orig. unkn._

Although I’ve always told the kids that a baby squid is an inkling.

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**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 1999, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495/4 "1999-10-19T13:20:00Z")

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Cute, Doug.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 1999, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squid-origin-of-the-word/9495/5 "1999-10-19T14:08:00Z")

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Well, ON, I think your source is better than my WAG. Really lets the air out of my cuttle. 🙂