Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

moorish idol

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.73 in modern English

Syllables
moor-ish i-dol
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A fish of the species Zanclus cornutus, a colorful marina tropical fish often kept in aquaria.

Etymology

From a supposed reverence Muslims somewhere around the Indo-Pacific (often colloquially called "Moors" by the Europeans) had for the fish.

Inflected Forms

Moorish idols (plural)

Synonyms

toby

Questions

What does moorish idol mean?
A fish of the species Zanclus cornutus, a colorful marina tropical fish often kept in aquaria.
Where does moorish idol come from?
From a supposed reverence Muslims somewhere around the Indo-Pacific (often colloquially called "Moors" by the Europeans) had for the fish.

How to pronounce moorish idol

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “moorish idol”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “moorish idol”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “moorish idol” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.