Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tilapia

/təˈlɑːpiə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English

Syllables: tilapia
IPA: /təˈlɑːpiə/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.

noun

A fishy (resembling a cisgender woman) drag queen; a drag queen who could pass for a woman, as opposed to one who is exaggeratedly feminine.

Example Sentences

"Well I dined last night with Scarface Ron On tilapia fishcakes and fried black swan."
"Vietnamese tilapia Plastique Tiara was at the forefront of one of Drag Race's most controversial eliminations earlier this year. Although the Texan performer and biological woman was leaving us gooped week-after-week with her runways, she was – spoiler alert! – eliminated in eighth place after lip-syncing against Miss Vanjie, despite having a better track record."

Etymology

Etymology tree Tswana tlhapider. taxonomic name Tilapialbor. English tilapia Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”). The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia".

Word Breakdown

Root: tlhapi

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /təˈlɑːpiə/
British English: /tɪˈlɑːpiə/

Inflected Forms

tilapias (plural)

Phrases

banded tilapia blackchin tilapia blackfin tilapia black tilapia blue tilapia Graham's tilapia Guinean tilapia kariba tilapia

Synonyms

St. Peter's fish

Questions

How do you pronounce tilapia?: The recorded pronunciation is /təˈlɑːpiə/.
What does tilapia mean?: Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.
Where does tilapia come from?: Etymology tree Tswana tlhapider. taxonomic name Tilapialbor. English tilapia Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”). The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia".

How to pronounce tilapia

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tilapia”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/təˈlɑːpiə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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