remora

Meaning

Noun

• Any of various elongate fish from the family Echeneidae, the dorsal fin of which is in the form of a suction disc that can take a firm hold against the skin of larger marine animals.
• A serpent.
• A delay; a hindrance, an obstacle.
• A surgical instrument, intended to retain parts in their places.

Related

Narrower meaning words

• pegador, swordfish sucker, whalesucker

Origin

• Borrowed from Latin remora ("delay, hindrance, passive resistance"), from the belief that the fish would attach themselves to ships and slow them down, from re- + mora (from Proto-Indo-European *mere ("to delay, hinder"), from *(s)mer-).