Rajidae
/rəˈdʒaɪɪdiː/noun
A taxonomic family of cartilaginous fishes that includes skates and related rays.
Did you know?Rajidae comes from the genus name Raja, which was used in Latin for rays or skates long before modern biological classification formalized the family.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
raia
“A ray or skate, a flat-bodied sea fish”
13th Century
Old French
raie
“A ray or skate”
Middle English
English
ray
“A marine fish with a flattened body and winglike fins”
1758
New Latin
Raja
“The genus name established by Linnaeus for rays and skates”
19th Century
New Latin
Rajidae
“The zoological family formed from Raja with the taxonomic suffix -idae, meaning a family”
Modern English
English
Rajidae
“The family comprising skates and related rays”
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