Dictionary.com

tilefish

[ tahyl-fish ]
/ ˈtaɪlˌfɪʃ /

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

a large, brilliantly colored food fish, Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps, of deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
any of several related fishes of the family Branchiostegidae.

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Origin of tilefish

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; tile + fish

Words nearby tilefish

Tilden, Tildy, tile, tiled, tile field, tilefish, tiler, tilery, tiliaceous, tiling, till
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for tilefish

tilefish
/ (ˈtaɪlˌfɪʃ) /

noun plural -fish or -fishes

a large brightly coloured deep-sea percoid food fish, Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps, of warm and tropical seas, esp the North American coast of the Atlantic: family Branchiostegidae

Word Origin for tilefish

C19: from New Latin -tilus, ending of genus name Lopholatilus; perhaps also from a resemblance between its colours and patterning and ornamental tiles
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