Meanings
nounmoonfish (plural moonfish or moonfishes)
plural moonfishes
- Any of various species of fish of a round appearance in several families:
- Any member of the species Mene maculata (razor moonfish), sole accepted, extant species of family Menidae, of tropical coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific area;
- A platyfish, of either of Xiphophorus maculatus or X. variatus (family Poeciliidae).
- Any member of most species of the genera Selene and Paraselene (family Carangidae).
- Any member of the genus Lampris of opahs (family Lamprididae);
- Any member of the species Mola mola (common mola or ocean sunfish; family Molidae).
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlarge elliptical brightly colored deep-sea fish of Atlantic and Pacific and Mediterranean
Similar
opahLampris regius
Broader
soft-finned fishmalacopterygian
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From moon + fish, from the silvery color, parallel to the synonymous Dutch cognate maanvis.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian плата, селена
- плата (plata)Xiphophorus maculatus
- селена (selena)most species of the genus Selene
- риба луна (riba luna)the family Molidae
- риба-луна (riba-luna)any of various flat, oval marine fish species
Chinese Mandarin 眼眶魚 /眼眶鱼
- 眼眶魚 /眼眶鱼 (yǎnkuàngyú)Mene maculata
Dutch maanvis
- maanvisany of various flat, oval marine fish species
French sélène
- sélèneany of various flat, oval marine fish species
German Gotteslachs, Mondfisch
- Gotteslachsany of various flat, oval marine fish species
- Mondfischany of various flat, oval marine fish species
Japanese 銀鏡
- 銀鏡 (ginkagami)Mene maculata
Polish moneta plamista, zmienniak plamisty
- moneta plamistaMene maculata
- zmienniak plamistyXiphophorus maculatus
- platkaXiphophorus maculatus
- selenamost species of the genus Selene
- womermost species of the genus Selene
- samogłówthe family Molidae
- ryba księżycowaany of various flat, oval marine fish species
Tagalog tabas, tabas
- tabasMene maculata
- tabasany of various flat, oval marine fish species
Cite this entry
APA
moonfish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moonfish
MLA
“moonfish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moonfish. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moonfish,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moonfish.
Source: moonfish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.