What does cavally mean?
Cavally is the regional name for several strong-swimming jacks of the genus Caranx found in the warm waters of the western Atlantic, most often the crevalle jack or the horse-eye jack. The word belongs mainly to the vocabulary of the Caribbean and the coastal southeastern United States, where these fish are both a popular target for sport anglers and a staple of local cooking. Cavally are prized for their fighting spirit on the line, and their firm flesh is commonly fried and served whole in island markets and kitchens. Because it is a folk and commercial name rather than a scientific one, usage varies by locality, and outside its home range readers will more often meet the formal species names. For anyone interested in Caribbean food culture or saltwater fishing, however, cavally is a word worth knowing — it captures a fish that matters equally to the angler and the cook.
A carangid fish of the western Atlantic, especially the crevalle jack or horse-eye jack, also called simply a jack.
"We caught cavally off the jetty all afternoon."
Usually an uncountable collective noun for the fish; 'a cavally' can denote a single specimen.
The edible flesh of the cavally, especially when fried in Caribbean cooking.
"She served fried cavally with rice and peas."
As with many fish names, the plural is normally identical to the singular when referring to multiple fish collectively; a regular plural appears only informally.
"The market had fresh cavally every morning."
Cavally isn't misspelled 'cavalry' — it's a hard-fighting Caribbean jack that ends up sizzling in island kitchens.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cavally
Cavally comes ultimately from the Spanish 'caballa', meaning mackerel, which Spanish-speaking sailors applied to related food fishes of the Atlantic. The term entered English through Caribbean usage, where it settled onto various jacks of the genus Caranx rather than the mackerel itself. It is thus a borrowing shaped by colonial trade and fishing, surviving today mainly in West Indian English and coastal American dialects.
How cavally is actually used
Regional and somewhat informal; the word is chiefly heard in the Caribbean and among anglers and fishmongers along the US Southeast and Gulf coasts. Elsewhere, speakers typically use the specific species names (crevalle jack, horse-eye jack) instead. The plural is usually unchanged ('cavally') when referring to fish collectively, though 'cavallies' appears occasionally in informal use.
Easily confused with cavally
Cavalla is the standard spelling of the same fish name (from Spanish 'caballa', meaning mackerel), while 'cavally' is a variant form; they refer to the same type of fish.
Cavalry means soldiers who fight on horseback (or in armored vehicles) and has no connection to the fish called cavally.