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Definition of silver arowana
silver arowana
Plural:silver arowanas
silver arowana Lexical Profile
CEFR
C1
Grade
9
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
A large, elongated freshwater bony fish native to the Amazon, Essequibo, and Oyapock basins of South America, characterized by its prominent, shiny silver scales, two barbels on its lower jaw, and an upward-pointing mouth.
Example
"The silver arowana is a highly sought-after aquarium fish, but it requires a massive tank due to its rapid growth and tendency to jump aggressively at prey."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for silver arowana• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The name combines the English descriptive 'silver', referring to its bright, armor-like scales, and 'arowana', which derives from the Tupí-Guaraní languages of South America (likely 'aruãna'), referring generally to this type of bony-tongued fish.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Silver arowana. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 15, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/silver arowana