What is the French word for "fish"?

The story behind the answer

Poisson is the French word for “fish” (pronounced “pwa-son”). The other options mean different things: mer = “sea,” escargot = “snail,” and fiche = “index card/file.”

Poisson comes from Latin piscis, which also gives English words like piscine (fish-related). To remember it, think of “poisson d’avril,” the French April Fools’ tradition of sticking a paper fish on someone’s back. Another hook: the Poisson distribution in probability is named after the French mathematician Siméon Denis Poisson—same spelling as “fish.” You’ll also see it in everyday French: a poissonnerie is a fishmonger’s shop.