turbot

[ tur-buh t ]

/ ˈtɜr bət /

noun, plural (especially collectively) tur·bot, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) tur·bots.

a European flatfish, Psetta maxima, having a diamond-shaped body: valued as a food fish.

any of several other flatfishes.

a triggerfish.

Nearby words

Origin of turbot

1250–1300; Middle English turbut < Anglo-French; Old French tourbot < Medieval Latin turb(ō) turbot (Latin: top; apparently applied to the fish because of its outline; see turbine, turbit) + Old French -ot noun suffix

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

Examples from the Web for turbot

I stuffed myself with bread so as not to dream of turbot, asparagus, and suchlike.
Letters of Anton Chekhov|Anton Chekhov
The remains of a turbot might also be curried in the same way, and also any kind of fish.
The Modern Housewife or, Menagere|Alexis Soyer
Place four trimmed fillets of turbot in a buttered saut pan, and season with salt and pepper.
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book|Victor Hirtzler
He takes as the typical vertebra that of a Pleuronectid, probably the turbot.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

The remains of the turbot from dinner, Petrie, would also be welcome, and I think I should like a trowel.
The Devil Doctor|Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for turbot

turbot

/ (ˈtɜːbət) /

noun plural -bot or -bots

a European flatfish, Scophthalmus maximus, having a pale brown speckled scaleless body covered with tubercles: family Bothidae . It is highly valued as a food fish

any of various similar or related fishes

Word Origin for turbot

C13: from Old French tourbot, from Medieval Latin turbō, from Latin: spinning top, from a fancied similarity in shape; see turbit, turbine

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

Word Origin and History for turbot

turbot

"large flat fish," c.1300, from Old French turbut (12c.), probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Swedish törnbut, from törn "thorn" + but "flatfish;" see halibut). But OED says of uncertain origin and speculates on a connection to Latin turbo "spinning top."