*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of goby

From Latin gobius (“gudgeon”), from Ancient Greek κωβιός (kōbiós), a type of small fish, of unknown ultimate origin. See also gudgeon.

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Any of various small fish from the large family Gobiidae, in which the pelvic fins are fused to form a disc-shaped sucker. · A gudgeon, a fish of the subfamily Gobioninae, such as a common gudgeon (Gobio gobio).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Latin gobius (“gudgeon”), from Ancient Greek κωβιός (kōbiós), a type of small fish, of unknown ultimate origin. See also gudgeon.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "gobius",
        "4": "",
        "5": "gudgeon"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin gobius (“gudgeon”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "κωβιός",
        "4": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek κωβιός (kōbiós)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gobius",
      "gobius#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "κωβιός",
      "κωβιός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "gudgeon",
      "gudgeon#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of various small fish from the large family Gobiidae, in which the pelvic fins are fused to form a disc-shaped sucker.",
        "A gudgeon, a fish of the subfamily Gobioninae, such as a common gudgeon (Gobio gobio)."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "20aaafc5c97e86460bd7fcbcecf1ead8563e4c955b0de624ac917970c42ed26a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5032c6f522626fa7769310ac52004f91c38f6821369b2740c0a91e471daa306b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 385125
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for goby →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z29ieQ