Definition of whitefish
1a : any of various freshwater salmonid food fishes (especially of genera Coregonus and Prosopium) that resemble the salmon and trout in having an adipose dorsal fin but have a smaller, often toothless mouth and that inhabit cold lakes and streams of the northern hemisphere — see cisco
b : any of various fishes (such as a menhaden or a whiting) resembling the true whitefishes
2 : the flesh of a whitefish especially as an article of food
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The first known use of whitefish was in the 15th century
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