remora

Meaning

1. Any of various elongate fish from the family Echeneidae, the dorsal fin of which is in the form of a suction disc that can take a firm hold against the skin of larger marine animals.
2. A serpent.
3. (obsolete) A delay; a hindrance, an obstacle.
4. (obsolete) A surgical instrument, intended to retain parts in their places.

Synonyms

suckerfish

sucking fish

sharksucker

grey marlinsucker

Translations

rêmora

rémora

rémora

remora

Echeneis naucrates

Remora brachyptera

Rémora

Rêmora

geciktirme

rèmora

mani

Schiffshalter

Rémora

echeneidae

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹɪˈmɔːɹə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin remora (“delay, hindrance, passive resistance”), from the belief that the fish would attach themselves to ships and slow them down, from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + mora (“delay”) (from Proto-Indo-European *mere (“to delay, hinder”), from *(s)mer- (“to fall into thinking, remember; to care for”)).