oceanic bonito

8.4

A fish whose dried, flaked meat is used in Japanese cooking

noun

: bonito

Katsuobushi is made by drying and fermenting the flesh of the oceanic bonito.

Examples

Traditionally, oceanic bonito flakes are used to make dashi, a popular soup stock.
The oceanic bonito is prized in Japanese cuisine for its strong flavor.
The oceanic bonito is popular in Japanese cuisine.
Have you ever tasted oceanic bonito sushi?
Katsuobushi is made by drying and fermenting the flesh of the oceanic bonito.
The oceanic bonito is prized in Japanese cuisine for its strong flavor.
Traditionally, oceanic bonito flakes are used to make dashi, a popular soup stock.

Synonyms

skipjack

vsoceanic bonito

1 7.1

A small tuna-like fish found in warm seas and used for food

is the dried flaked form used in Japanese cooking rather than the general food fish

bonito

vsoceanic bonito

1 7.4

A medium-sized sea fish that people often eat, like a small tuna

is the specific dried flaked product sometimes identified with that related fish

Katsuwonus pelamis

vsoceanic bonito

Specialized

9.8

A fish called skipjack tuna whose dried flakes are used in Japanese cooking

is the culinary dried and flaked fish sometimes equated with that species

Euthynnus pelamis

vsoceanic bonito

Specialized

9.9

A tuna fish that lives in the open ocean, often called skipjack tuna

is the dried and flaked culinary product rather than the whole large fish

skipjack tuna

vsoceanic bonito

3.1

A small fast sea fish that forms large schools and is often canned

is the dried flaked ingredient for Japanese cookery, not the general commercial fish

Surface Forms

oceanic bonito singular

oceanic bonitos plural

Morphology

oceanic + bonito

The compound is directly compositional: 'oceanic' specifies the habitat/variant of 'bonito' (a marine fish), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a kind of fish found in the open ocean. The extra information about drying and flaking for Japanese cookery is encyclopedic rather than idiomatic, so the core referent remains transparently derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Oceanic bonito names a sea fish: bonito is a mackerel-like fish whose meat is dried, smoked and shaved into thin flakes called 'katsuobushi'. That's why the name refers to a fish often prepared as dried flakes used to make 'dashi' soup stock.