spadefish

[ speyd-fish ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) spade·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) spade·fish·es.

1. a deep-bodied marine fish of the genus Chaetodipterus, especially C. faber of Atlantic coastal waters of North America.

spadefish

/ ˈspeɪdˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any spiny-finned food fish of the family Ephippidae, esp Chaetodipterus faber of American Atlantic coastal waters, having a deeply compressed body

Word History and Origins

Origin of spadefish¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; probably spade ² + fish, in allusion to its shape