Ahi

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large tropical tuna, most often the yellowfin or bigeye, prized as a food fish especially in Hawaiian cuisine
2. The name for certain big-eyed or yellowfin tuna species that are popular in sushi and seared dishes
3. A Hawaiian term for a large, fast-swimming tuna whose firm, deep-red flesh is widely served raw or lightly cooked

Etymology: The word comes from Hawaiian, where "ʻahi" is the local name for the yellowfin tuna, the large tropical fish that Hawaiian fishermen have long pursued in the open Pacific. English took the name along with the fish, and the English form drops the Hawaiian glottal stop, written as the ʻokina. In English kitchens and fish markets, "ahi" now covers the large yellowfin tuna and, in many restaurants, the closely related bigeye tuna. Its prominence in Hawaiian cooking, especially in the raw cubed dish called poke, is a large part of why the name spread beyond the islands.

Synonyms: yellowfin tuna