triggerfish

See also: trigger-fish

English

A triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)

Alternative forms

• trigger-fish

Etymology

Etymology tree

English trigger

Proto-Indo-European *péysks

Proto-Germanic *fiskaz

Proto-West Germanic *fisk

Old English fisċ

Middle English fisch

English fish

English triggerfish

From trigger + fish. First attested in the 1840s.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪ.ɡəˌfɪʃ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪ.ɡəɹˌfɪʃ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪɡə(ɹ)fɪʃ
• Hyphenation: trig‧ger‧fish

Noun

triggerfish (plural triggerfish or triggerfishes)

1. Any of several brightly coloured fish, of the family Balistidae, that inhabit tropical reefs and have an erectile spine on the dorsal fin.

Usage notes

• The collective plural of fish (and derived terms) is typically invariable fish, except in archaic texts where fishes is sometimes used. When referring to two or more kinds of fish, the plural is fishes.

Derived terms

• bigspotted triggerfish
• blackbar triggerfish
• bluespotted triggerfish
• clown triggerfish
• flat-tailed triggerfish
• gray triggerfish
• lagoon triggerfish
• orange-lined triggerfish
• reef triggerfish
• spotted triggerfish
• starry triggerfish
• yellowmargin triggerfish

Translations

any of several fish

• Catalan: ballesta (ca), porcell (ca) m
• Cebuano: pakol
• Dhivehi: ރޮނޑު އާއިލާ (roⁿḍu āilā)
• Finnish: säppikala
• French: baliste (fr) m
• Italian: pesce balestra m
• Korean: 쥐치복 (jwichibok)
• Malay: jebung, ayam-ayam
• Mokilese: pwupw
• Polish: rogatnica (pl) f
• Russian: спиноро́г m (spinoróg)
• Serbo-Croatian: риба окидач (риба окидач)

See also

• humuhumunukunukuapuaa

Further reading

• “triggerfish”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “triggerfish”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “triggerfish”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “triggerfish”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “trigger-fish, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “triggerfish”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.