also blow-fish, 1862, American English, from blow (v.1) + fish (n.).
Then he described another odd product of the bay, that was known as the blow-fish, and had the power of inflating himself with air when taken out of the water. ["The Young Nimrods in North America," New York, 1881]
any of numerous marine fishes whose elongated spiny body can inflate itself with water or air to form a globe; several species contain a potent nerve poison; closely related to spiny puffers;
