blacktail, noun

Plurals:
usually unchanged, occasionally blacktails.
Origin:
EnglishShow more Transferred use of general English black-tail a name for certain varieties of fish.
In the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal: the edible seabream Diplodus sargus capensis of the Sparidae; das sense 2 a; dassie sense 2 a.
Note:
The name ‘blacktail’ is used for this species in Smith and Heemstra’s Smiths’ Sea Fishes (1986).
1905 E. London Dispatch 29 July 7A few friends fishing in the Buffalo River..had some excellent sport taking..a black fish of about 9 lbs. and black-tail of about 2½ lbs.
1906 E. London Dispatch 6 Mar. 7The biggest I caught on these rocks was a fine dasje (black-tail) weighing 7½ lbs.
1949 J.L.B. Smith Sea Fishes of Sn Afr. 269Diplodus sargus...Das. Dassie..Kolstert. Blacktail...About the best fighter of our inshore angling fishes...Weight for weight the Blacktail has twice the vigour of any trout.
1971 Farmer’s Weekly 12 Sept. 85When fishing for night feeders like stumpnose and big blacktail (anything up to 2 kg) I use a 1/0 hook.
1975 E. Prov. Herald 30 Jan. 13The tidal pools were nursery areas for several species of fish which were not nurtured in the river estuaries. This included the popular baitfish strepie, and blacktails.
1993 R. Van der Elst Guide to Common Sea Fishes 348Blacktail, a reference to the distinctive saddle on the caudal peduncle.
In the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal: the edible seabream Diplodus sargus capensis of the Sparidae; das sense 2 a; dassie sense 2 a.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19051993

Browse Related Words

By Category

Fish

By Origin

English
black spot, noun phrasen. phr.black thorn, noun phrasen. phr.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English