anchoveta

[an-choh-vet-uh, -chuh-]

noun

an anchovy, Cetengraulis mysticetus, found along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Baja California, used for bait.

Origin of anchoveta

1935–40; < Spanish, equivalent to anchov(a) anchovy + -eta < Latin -itta diminutive suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for anchoveta

anchoveta

noun

a small anchovy, Cetengraulis mysticetus, of the American Pacific, used as bait by tuna fishermen

Word Origin for anchoveta

C20: Spanish, diminutive of anchova anchovy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012