Cichlid
/ˈsɪk.lɪd/noun
Any fish of the family Cichlidae, a large group of freshwater fishes.
Did you know?The name was coined in modern scientific taxonomy from Greek kikhle, a name for a thrush or a perch-like fish, showing how zoological names often borrow from older words for unrelated creatures.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
kikhlē / kikhle
“a thrush; also used as a name for certain fish”
Modern Latin
Latin
Cichla
“a genus name created in scientific classification”
1830s
Latin/Greek
Cichlidae
“the family name formed for cichlid fishes”
Modern English
English
cichlid
“a fish of the cichlid family”