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tu·na¹

(tnə, ty-)

n. pl. tuna or tu·nas

a. Any of various often large scombroid marine food and game fishes of the genus Thunnus and related genera, several of which, including albacore and skipjack tuna, are commercially important sources of canned fish. Also called tunny.

b. Any of several related fishes, such as the bonito.

2. The edible flesh of tuna, often canned or processed. Also called tuna fish.

[American Spanish, from Spanish atún, from Arabic at-tūn, the tuna, from Latin thunnus; see TUNNY.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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