blacktail

B3L1A1C3K5T1A1I1L1
US/ˈblækˌteɪl/

noun

A fish: the ruffe or pope (Gymnocephalus cernua)

Similar
black-tailed deerblacktail deerOdocoileus hemionus columbianus
UncommonScrabble 17

Meanings

nounblacktail (plural blacktails)

plural blacktails

  1. A fish: the ruffe or pope (Gymnocephalus cernua)

    […] the blacke taile Perch [which ſome take for a Ruffe, others for a ſea Breame:]

    1601, Pliny the Elder, translated by Philemon Holland, The Historie of the World, London: A. Islip, published 1634, page 452
    2 more examples

    Melarunus, the Black-tail, a kind of Perch of Ruff, a Fiſh; it alſo taken for a Sea-bream: […]

    1706, Edward Phillips, compiler, J[ohn] K[ersey the younger], “Melarunus”, in The New World of Words: Or, Universal English Dictionary. […], 6th edition, London: […] J. Phillips, […]; N. Rhodes, […]; and J. Taylor, […], →OCLC

    A perch-like fish of European waters, the blacktail, striped or stone perch, is also known as a ruff or ruffe.

    1912, Harry Thurston Peck, The Standard Illustrated Book of Facts, New York, N.Y.: Syndicate Publishing Company, page 764
  2. A black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), of California and Oregon.
  3. A mule deer, of the Rocky Mountains.
  4. Certain fish with black tails:
    1. NamibiaSouth AfricaDiplodus capensis, Diplodus sargus
    2. JamaicaHaemulon carbonarium

Synonyms & antonyms

nounmule deer of western Rocky Mountains

Similar
black-tailed deerblacktail deerOdocoileus hemionus columbianus
Broader
mule deerburro deerOdocoileus hemionus

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

blacktail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blacktail

MLA

“blacktail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blacktail. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blacktail,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blacktail.

Source: blacktail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.