swordtail
nounEtymology From sword + tail.
1
One of many species of freshwater fish, in genus Xiphophorus, others of which are called platyfish.
- There were all kinds - Swordtails, Guppies, Platys, Terras [sic], Neons, Cichlids, Labyrinth and Paradise fish, and every variety of exotic Goldfish.1954, Ian Fleming, “Midnight Among The Worms”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 156:
- But ongoing efforts to sequence genes from other fishes, including salmon and swordtail, will also help to test the theory, Postlethwait says.1998 August 21, Gretchen Vogel, “EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY:Doubled Genes May Explain Fish Diversity”, in Science, volume 281, number 5380, →DOI, pages 1119–1121:
2
Any of various papilionid butterflies that have a long sword-like projection from the tornal section of each hindwing.
- Hyponyms
- five-bar swordtail, green swordtail, red swordtail