Pompano
/ˈpɑːm.pə.noʊ/noun
A silvery marine fish of the jack family, prized as a food fish.
Did you know?Pompano is one of those everyday seafood names that preserves a word from the Americas, showing how colonial contact quietly moved Indigenous vocabulary into global English.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian era
Taíno
*pampano?
“Reconstructed Indigenous source often cited for the fish name, likely referring to a local fish in the Caribbean”
16th Century
Spanish
pámpano
“A vine shoot or tendril; later also applied to a fish name in colonial usage”
17th Century
English
pompano
“Borrowed fish name used in English for a tropical marine fish”
Modern English
English
pompano
“The common name of several edible fish, especially species in the genus Trachinotus”