Guardfishes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Several kinds of saltwater fish that go by this common name, each a distinct species living in the ocean
2. Types of sea-dwelling fish known collectively by this name, found in various ocean regions
3. Marine fishes of more than one species that share this common label in ocean waters

Etymology: Guardfishes is the plural of "guardfish," a name for several fish of the family Icosteidae, though in practice the name is most often given to the oarfish-like species of the genus Icosteus and the related fishes of the family. Because the name is a compound of "guard" and "fish," its parts are plain: "guard" comes from Old French "garder," itself of Germanic origin, and "fish" comes from Old English "fisc," a word shared with German and Dutch. The compound describes the fish in a straightforward way rather than preserving any older story. The plural follows the usual English pattern for a count noun, adding "-es" to the singular, and it is used when speaking of more than one of these fishes.