cá đao

Vietnamese

Etymology

From cá (“fish”) +‎ đao (“blade”). Sense 1 and 2 allude to these fishes' large and distinctive appendages that resemble a blade. Sense 3 and 4 stem from the fact that these fishes' bauplans are slender and elongated, much like a blade.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˦ ʔɗaːw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaː˨˩˦ ʔɗaːw˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kaː˦˥ ʔɗaːw˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) cá đao • (个/𩵜 + 刀)

1. a sawfish
2. a swordfish

   Synonym: cá kiếm

3. a wolf herring

   Synonyms: cá lanh, cá rựa, cá bẹ, cá đé

4. certain species of cutlassfish (esp. Trichiurus lepturus)

   Synonym: cá hố