porcupinefish

[ pawr-kyuh-pahyn-fish ]

/ ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪnˌfɪʃ /

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noun, plural (especially collectively) por·cu·pine·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) por·cu·pine·fish·es.

any of several fishes of the family Diodontidae, especially Diodon hystrix, of tropical seas, capable of inflating the body with water or air until it resembles a globe, with erection of the long spines covering the skin.

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Origin of porcupinefish

First recorded in 1675–85; porcupine + fish

How to use porcupinefish in a sentence

We have received many curious specimens: sea-horse, porcupine-fish, key-hole shells, etc.
St. Nicholas v. 13 No. 9 July 1886|Various
They leave him alone; and the Porcupine-fish goes back to his usual shape, the spines lying flat until wanted again.
Within the Deep|R. Cadwallader Smith
Some have bony coats of mail and sometimes the coat of mail is covered with thorns, as in the porcupine-fish.
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition|Vernon L. Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for porcupinefish

porcupine fish

noun

any of various plectognath fishes of the genus Diodon and related genera, of temperate and tropical seas, having a body that is covered with sharp spines and can be inflated into a globe: family DiodontidaeAlso called: globefish

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