catfish

Etymology 1

From cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers.

noun

1. Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
2. The meat of such a fish, popular in the Southern U.S. and Central Europe.

verb

1. To fish for catfish.
   I only use this rod for catfishing.

Etymology 2

From the 2010 documentary Catfish, supposedly inspired by the practice of fishermen keeping cod active by storing them with catfish (see sense 1) which nip at their tails.

noun

1. (Internet) Someone who creates a fake profile on a social media platform in order to deceive people.
2. (Internet) Such a fake profile.

verb

1. (Internet, slang, transitive) To create and operate a fake online profile to deceive (someone).
   Getting catfished is when someone falls for a person online who is not necessarily real. It can involve pictures, phone calls, social media profiles, text messages, e-mails and even phony friends or family members. 2013-01-17, Mary Pilon, “In Te’o Story, Deception Ripped From the Screen”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   [to Abed] You made a profile for a fake dude and lured her into an online relationship. [to Annie] He's catfishing you. 2014-01-16, 12:17 from the start, in Cooperative Polygraphy (Community), season 5, episode 4 (TV), spoken by Troy (Donald Glover), via NBC