titiwi

• titiri, tritri, tri-tri

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

titiwi (countable and uncountable, plural titiwis)

1. (Caribbean) A juvenile goby.
   • 1938, Douglas Taylor, “Bulletin 119: The Caribs of Dominica”, in Anthropological Papers, number 3, Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology:

     At certain times of the year a delicious and diminutive fry of clear gray color, known as "titiri," is taken in sheets at the river mouths.

   • 1987, Masao Yamaguchi, Masao Naitō, Social and festive space in the Caribbean:

     In addition to these staples, the villagers are supplied animal proteins from wild animals and creatures such as manique (tree kangaroo), agoutis (Dasyprocta spp.) ciwiks (land crab), viyos (stream snail), cuibishes (cray fish), titiwis (sea fish), etc.

   • 2011, Ken Albala, Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia - Volume 2, →ISBN, page 116:

     Recent additions to the calendar of celebrations include the community-based Titiwi Festival held in Layou village and Cochrane's Rabbit Festival. At these events, against a backdrop of music and other entertainment, residents and visitors get to sample titiwi (a tiny translucent fish) or rabbit cooked in a variety of different ways.

   • 2012, Celia Sorhaindo, Polly Pattullo, Home Again: Stories of Migration and Return, →ISBN:

     We used to go and get watercress and titiwi - walking through the bushes, going to the garden.

   • 2016, Paul Crask, Dominica, →ISBN, page 55:

     Ackra is a kind of seasoned and fried fritter, often made from codfish, breadfruit, tannia and, from September to November, in the days after the moon's last quarter, titiwi, which is a juvenile goby caught in fine nets at the mouths of rivers.

The spelling titiwi is prevalent in Dominica, while titiri is used elsewhere in the Caribbean.