Meanings
lutefish1
plural lutefishes
- Any of a family of characiform fish (Citharinidae), including the genera Citharidium (one species), Citharinops (one species), and Citharinus (6 species).
Citharinids (commonly known as lutefishes), although not as morphologically and taxonomically diverse as distichodontids, are distributed throughout much of tropical Africa, and constitute an important component of the artisanal fisheries in the region [40].
2013 October, Jairo Arroyave, John S.S. Denton, Melanie L.J. Stiassny, “Are characiform fishes Gondwanan in origin? Insights from a time-scaled molecular phylogeny of the Citharinoidei (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)”, in PLOS One1 more example
The Citharinidae is one of the less species-rich families in Africa with only eight species belonging to three genera. Citharinids, commonly known as lutefish, are distributed throughout much of tropical Africa and constitute an important part of artisanal fishing catches.
2017 January, Iva Přikrylová, Andrew P. Shinn, Giuseppe Paladini, “Description of Citharodactylus gagei n. gen. et n. sp. (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) from the moon fish, Citharinus citharus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire), from Lake Turkana”, in Parasitology research, volume 116, number 1
lutefish2
plural lutefishes
- alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of lutefisk.
Origin
lutefish · noun
Partial calque of Norwegian lutefisk; see English lutefisk for more.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
lutefish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lutefish
“lutefish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lutefish. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lutefish,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lutefish.
Source: lutefish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.