tetra

T1E1T1R1A1
/ˈtɛ.tɹə/

noun

Any of numerous species of small freshwater fish of the South American family Characidae and West African family Alestidae, popular in home aquariums.

OriginAncient Greek τετράγωνος →
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Meanings

nountetra (plural tetras)

plural tetras

  1. Any of numerous species of small freshwater fish of the South American family Characidae and West African family Alestidae, popular in home aquariums.

    Among them were ancient relatives of the piranhas and those popular aquarium fish the tetras, along with garfish and freshwater coelacanths, known as mawsonids.

    2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 32

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekτετράγωνος“square, quadrilateral”
  2. Englishtetra

From translingual Tetragonopterus, an obsolete genus that included these fish, ultimately from Ancient Greek τετράγωνος (tetrágōnos, “square, quadrilateral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing, fin”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неонова тетра
  • неонова тетра (neonova tetra)fish
Finnish tetra
  • tetrafish
Italian tetra
  • tetrafish
Polish tetra
  • tetrafish
Russian те́тра
  • те́тра (tétra)fish
Swedish tetra
  • tetrafish

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

treattateratterratteteart
Cite this entry
APA

tetra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tetra

MLA

“tetra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tetra. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tetra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tetra.

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