STICKLEBACK

noun (plural -backs; also -back) Etymology: Middle English stykylbak, from Old English sticel goad + Middle English bak back; akin to Old English stician to stick Date: 15th century any of a family (Gasterosteidae) of small scaleless bony fishes having two or more free spines in front of the dorsal fin and including marine, anadromous, and freshwater forms