Turbot (family Scophthalmidae, order Pleuronectiformes) are flatfish native to marine or brackish waters of the North Atlantic, Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Origin The word comes from the Old Swedish törnbut (meaning thorn butt or stump) and was adopted into English and French about the same time, around the 13th century. Pronunciation The name of the fish may be pronounced tur-bit or tur-but (or ). It's occasionally mispronounced as tur-bo . This's likely a back-formation based on… (More on Turbot)