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.

Origin of tripletail

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; triple + tail1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for tripletail

tripletail

/ (ˈtrɪpəlˌteɪl) /


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

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