white seabass

1 6.1

A large fish from the Pacific coast of North America that people catch for food and sport

noun
/waɪt ˈsiːbæs/

: lubina blanca

Anglers come from far away hoping to catch a white seabass along the California coast.

Examples

The chef prepared a delicious dish featuring grilled white seabass with lemon and herbs.
The fisherman was thrilled to catch a white seabass weighing over fifty pounds on his trip.
Due to overfishing, there are regulations on the minimum size of white seabass you can keep.
The white seabass is known for its delicious taste.
Many fishermen love to catch white seabass in California.
During our fishing expedition, we spotted a large white seabass swimming near the rocky shore.
Grilled white seabass is a popular dish at many seafood restaurants along the Pacific coast.

Surface Forms

white seabass singular

white seabasses plural

Morphology

white + seabass

The noun is a straightforward composition of the color adjective 'white' plus a fish name ('seabass' = sea + bass), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes a type of seabass that is white or named 'white seabass'. The color+animal naming pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common, making the meaning directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

The name white seabass simply describes the fish: white for its pale color and sea bass for a large bass that lives in the sea. So the name means 'a big, pale sea fish' that fishermen and cooks value.