What does "swordtail" mean?

One of many species of freshwater fish, in genus Xiphophorus, others of which are called platyfish.

What is a synonym for "swordtail"?

Common synonyms include: helleri, platyfish, topminnow, xyphophorus helleri.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
One of many species of freshwater fish, in genus Xiphophorus, others of which are called platyfish.
"But ongoing efforts to sequence genes from other fishes, including salmon and swordtail, will also help to test the theory, Postlethwait says."
2
freshwater fish of Central America having a long swordlike tail; popular aquarium fish wordnet
3
Any of various papilionid butterflies that have a long sword-like projection from the tornal section of each hindwing.

"But ongoing efforts to sequence genes from other fishes, including salmon and swordtail, will also help to test the theory, Postlethwait says."

From sword + tail.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.