opah

American  

[oh-puh] / ˈoʊ pə /

noun

1. a large, deep-bodied, brilliantly colored, oceanic food fish, Lampris regius.

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opah British  

/ ˈəʊpə /

noun

1. Also called: moonfish, kingfish. a large soft-finned deep-sea teleost fish, Lampris regius (or luna ), of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, having a deep, brilliantly coloured body: family Lampridae

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Etymology

Origin of opah

First recorded in 1740–50; < an unidentified West African source

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

opah

Testing showed that the opah is able to maintain a core body temperature about 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the surrounding water.

From Washington Post ● May 14, 2015

To confirm that these special gills helped the opah stay toasty, the researchers tagged a number of moonfish with temperature monitors and tracked the fish as they dove.

From Scientific American ● May 14, 2015

The opah, on the other hand, can spend all its time in the deep waters without losing its edge.

From Washington Post ● May 14, 2015

"The opah appears to produce the majority of its heat by constantly flapping its pectoral fins which are used in continuous swimming," Wegner said.

From Scientific American ● May 14, 2015

"Dialectic forms in Algonquin for white are wabi, wape, wampi, etc.; for morning, wapan, wapanch, opah; for east, wapa, wanbun, etc.; for day, wompan, oppan; for light, oppung."

From Myths and myth-makers: Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology by John Fiske

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