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squirrelfish in British English
(ˈskwɪrəlˌfɪʃ)
nounWord forms: plural -fish or -fishes
any tropical marine brightly coloured teleost fish of the family Holocentridae
Word origin
C18: so called because it can make a squirrel-like noisesquirrelfish in American English
(ˈskwɜːrəlˌfɪʃ, ˈskwʌr-, esp Brit ˈskwɪr-)
nounWord forms: plural esp. collectively -fish or esp. referring to two or more kinds or species -fishes
any of several brightly colored, nocturnal fishes of the family Holocentridae, inhabiting shallow waters of tropical reefs, esp. the reddish Holocentrus ascensionis of the West Indies, armed with sharp spines and scales
Word origin
[1795–1805; perh. after the sound it makes out of water, likened to a squirrel's bark]This word is first recorded in the period 1795–1805. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: crunch, kingpin, mannerism, steeplechase, wreckerImage ofsquirrelfish
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