Devilfishes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Huge marine rays with wide, wing-like fins and horn-like projections at the head ; eight-armed sea creatures that are sometimes given this name
2. Enormous ocean rays with broad fins shaped like wings ; eight-limbed cephalopods that are sometimes called by the same name
3. Very large sea rays with flared, wing-shaped fins and horn-like lobes ; octopuses that are occasionally referred to by this label

Etymology: "Devilfishes" is the plural of "devilfish," a compound of "devil" and "fish." The name is applied to several very different sea creatures, most famously the giant manta ray, whose broad, winged silhouette and fearsome-sounding horned fins suggested something demonic to early observers. Because the name was never tied to one species, it has been used loosely for various large or strange-looking fish, which is why the plural is needed for more than one kind.