tripletail

[ trip-uhl-teyl ]

noun

1. a large food fish, Lobotes surinamensis, inhabiting the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, having the lobes of its dorsal and anal fins extending backward and, with the caudal fin, suggesting a three-lobed tail.
2. any similar fishes of the genus Lobotes, of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

tripletail

/ ˈtrɪpəlˌteɪl /

noun

1. any percoid fish of the family Lobotidae , esp Lobotes surinamensis , of brackish waters of SE Asia, having tail-like dorsal and anal fins

Word History and Origins

Origin of tripletail¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; triple + tail ¹