Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Either of two large marine game fishes, Megalops cyprinoides of the Pacific and Indian Oceans or M. atlanticus of Atlantic coastal waters, having a bluish-green back and silvery sides.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A large game-fish of the family Elopidæ and subfamily Megalopinæ (which see), specifically Megalops atlanticus, also called
jewfish .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Same as
tarpum .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of several fishes of the family Elopidae or
Megalopidae , especially a large silverygame fish .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large silvery game fish of warm Atlantic coastal waters especially off Florida
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Origin unknown.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Compare Dutch tarpoen. Suggestions that the term derives from a Native American term are unlikely.
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Examples
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chained_bear commented on the word tarpon
"...Fish in gleaming plenty: tarpon, cavallies, mullets, snappers, yellowtails, old-maids, ten-pounders (thought rather coarse, said Square, but nourishing), and of course great heaps of oysters."
--P. O'Brian, The Commodore, 203
March 18, 2008