# tilapia

> English word · Noun · IPA /təˈlɑːpiə/ · frequency rank #45,123

## Definitions
1. Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.
2. A fishy (resembling a cisgender woman) drag queen; a drag queen who could pass for a woman, as opposed to one who is exaggeratedly feminine.

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”).
The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia".

## Common misspellings (9)
`itlapia`, `tialpia`, `tilaipa`, `tilapai`, `tilappia`, `tillapia`, `tilpaia`, `tliapia`, `ttilapia`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tilapia