Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🚩 A quarantine flag 🐟 A yellow fish 🤒 Yellow fever
yellow jack

yellow jack

9.8
A yellowish fish found in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : pez jack amarillo
  • The fisherman proudly displayed a large yellow jack he had caught off the Florida coast.

Examples

  • Grilled yellow jack is a popular dish in many Caribbean restaurants.

  • Scientists are studying the migration patterns of yellow jacks in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • The yellow jack is a popular catch among anglers.

  • Have you ever seen a yellow jack in the wild?

  • Many fishermen regard the yellow jack as one of the best tasting fish in the region.

  • During our diving trip, we spotted several yellow jacks swimming near the coral reef.

  • The chef prepared a delicious ceviche using fresh yellow jack caught that morning.

Synonyms

Caranx bartholomaei
vsyellow jack
  • Specialized
9.9

A yellow fish often called yellow jack that lives in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

is the common name that highlights the yellowish coloring

Surface Forms

yellow jack singular
yellow jacks plural

Morphology

yellow + jack

Although 'yellow' could suggest jaundice, the noun 'jack' (a fish or unrelated noun) gives no cue to a disease, so the compound's meaning as 'yellow fever' is historical and idiomatic rather than compositional. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer 'a serious infectious disease' from them, and most languages use a literal equivalent of 'yellow fever' rather than this idiosyncratic English name.

Etymology

Yellow jack is the name fishermen gave to a sea fish that is yellow in colour and part of the 'jack' family of fish. The simple image of a yellow jack helps people remember this fish's name.