/spayd"fish'/ , n. , pl. ( esp. collectively ) spadefish , ( esp. referring to two or more kinds or species ) spadefishes .
a deep-bodied marine fish of the genus Chaetodipterus, esp. C. faber, of Atlantic coastal waters of North America.
[ 1695-1705; prob. SPADE 2 + FISH, in allusion to its shape ]