wrasse

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun chiefly tropical marine fishes with fleshy lips and powerful teeth; usually brightly colored

Plural of dialectal (Cornwall) wrah, wraugh, wrath, from Cornish wragh (“old woman, hag; wrasse”), lenited form of gwragh.

The wrasse brought from dangerous Syrtis is much more esteemed When fishing-boats founder! — The Satyricon — Complete, Petronius Arbiter
He was going along the rocks in three-fathom water, watching the pollock catch prawns, and the wrasses nibble barnacles off the rocks, shells and all, when he saw a round cage of green withes; and inside it, looking very much ashamed of himself, sat his friend the lobster, twiddling his horns, instead of thumbs. — The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby, Charles Kingsley
There our nets brought up some fine fish samples: dolphinfish with azure fins, gold tails, and flesh that’s unrivaled in the entire world, wrasse from the genus Hologymnosus that were nearly denuded of scales but exquisite in flavor, knifejaws with bony beaks, yellowish albacore that were as tasty as bonito, all fish worth classifying in the ship’s pantry. — Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World, Jules Verne

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