A tropical fish with spotted or patterned coloring, found in South American waters.
From Portuguese or Tupi origins, entering English through naturalists' accounts of South American fauna. The exact etymology is uncertain but reflects indigenous or colonial naming traditions.
This is one of those words that shows how European explorers collected names for exotic animals they encountered—'chaui' is a reminder that countless organisms have indigenous names we rarely use in English.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.