triggerfish [trig-er-fish] WORD ORIGIN noun, plural (especially collectively) trig·ger·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) trig·ger·fish·es. any of various compressed, deep-bodied fishes of the genus Balistes and allied genera, chiefly inhabiting tropical seas, having an anterior dorsal fin with three stout spines: some are edible while others are poisonous. Liberaldictionary.com
Origin of triggerfish First recorded in 1880–85; trigger + fish Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 British Dictionary definitions for triggerfish triggerfish noun plural -fish or -fishes any plectognath fish of the family Balistidae, of tropical and temperate seas. They have a compressed body with erectile spines in the first dorsal fin Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012