Anemonefish
/ˌænəˈmoʊni ˌfɪʃ/noun
A small brightly colored fish, especially a clownfish, that lives among sea anemones.
Did you know?The first half comes from Greek anemōnē, the same word behind anemone, which was linked by ancient writers to the wind, while the fish part was added much later to describe its symbiotic life among sea anemones.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
anemōnē
“an anemone flower; the word was associated with wind”
Latin
Latin
anemone
“an anemone, especially the flower”
17th Century
English
anemone
“the flowering plant”
19th Century
English
anemone fish
“a fish living among sea anemones”
Modern English
English
anemonefish
“a small fish, especially a clownfish, that lives among sea anemones”