Actual serious answer: electric eels are exclusively South American, so the indigenous peoples there probably do have their own names for them which would likely pre-date the discovery of electricity.
(Electric fish known to other cultures would have been electric catfish, not electric eels.)
Follow-on serious answer: there are also electric rays, which are known as torpedos. According to Wikipedia, this is from the Latin torpidus meaning “paralyzed” or “numb” (the same root as the English “torpid”). The weapon is named after the fish. Edit: some of these live in the Mediterranean, and that Latin name predates understanding electricity; they were also known to Hippocrates who called them narke with a similar meaning in Greek.
IIRC some of the other pre-electricity names for electric fish are based on their ability to numb, paralyze or stun people and other creatures.
Actual serious answer: electric eels are exclusively South American, so the indigenous peoples there probably do have their own names for them which would likely pre-date the discovery of electricity.
(Electric fish known to other cultures would have been electric catfish, not electric eels.)
Follow-on serious answer: there are also electric rays, which are known as torpedos. According to Wikipedia, this is from the Latin torpidus meaning “paralyzed” or “numb” (the same root as the English “torpid”). The weapon is named after the fish. Edit: some of these live in the Mediterranean, and that Latin name predates understanding electricity; they were also known to Hippocrates who called them narke with a similar meaning in Greek.
IIRC some of the other pre-electricity names for electric fish are based on their ability to numb, paralyze or stun people and other creatures.
According to this, in ancient Egypt they were called the thunder of the Nile, or the angry catfish! haha
https://visual.ly/community/Infographics/education/electricity-usage-ancient-civilizations
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