chanchito

noun

chan·​chi·​to chän-ˈchē-(ˌ)tō 

plural chanchitos

: a freshwater cichlid fish (Australohero facetus synonym Cichlasoma facetum) of South America that is typically yellow to pale brown with dark vertical stripes, may reach a length of seven inches (18 centimeters), and is sometimes kept in aquariums : chameleon cichlid

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from American Spanish, diminutive of chancho "hog, swine," affective variant of sancho in the same sense, from the Spanish given name Sancho

Note: Allegedly so named from the fish's habit of uprooting plants.

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above