crucifix fish

9.9

A sea catfish from the Caribbean with a bone shaped like a cross in its head

noun
/ˈkruːsɪfɪks fɪʃ/

Specialized

: pez crucifijo

The crucifix fish gets its name from the unique cross-shaped bone found inside its head.

Examples

Fishermen in the Caribbean sometimes find a crucifix fish among their catch and save its bony cross for good luck.
Tour guides often show tourists the dried remains of a crucifix fish at local markets.
Look at that crucifix fish!
The crucifix fish has a unique appearance.
Fishermen in the Caribbean sometimes find a crucifix fish among their catch and save its bony cross for good luck.
The crucifix fish gets its name from the unique cross-shaped bone found inside its head.
Tour guides often show tourists the dried remains of a crucifix fish at local markets.

Surface Forms

crucifix fish singular

crucifix fishes plural

Morphology

crucifix + fish

This is a literal noun–noun compound where 'crucifix' describes a cross-shaped feature of the animal, so the overall meaning (a fish with a crucifix-like/bony cross structure) can be directly inferred from the constituents. Such descriptive naming of species is common and follows regular English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely understand the referent.

Etymology

The name crucifix fish comes from a hard, cross-shaped bone in its head that looks like a crucifix. Fishermen noticed the little 'cross' and sometimes kept it as a charm for 'good luck', so the name came to mean this sea catfish.