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Definition of damselfish

damselfish

/ˈdæm.zəlˌfɪʃ/
dam · sel · fish
Plural:damselfish
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damselfish Lexical Profile

damselfish Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

Any of numerous small, often brightly colored, and highly territorial marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae, primarily inhabiting tropical coral reefs in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans.

Example

"The vibrant blue damselfish aggressively defended its patch of algae from much larger intruders navigating the coral reef."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for damselfish

• Nearby Words

damply
dampness
damsel
damselfish
damselfly
damson
dan

Word Origin & Etymology

A compound of 'damsel' and 'fish', likely named for their small size and brightly colored, delicate appearance, which ironically contrasts with their notoriously aggressive and territorial behavior in the wild.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Damselfish. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/damselfish
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