Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pickerel
1.
A young or small pike.
[Obs.]
Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a
pickerel
. Chaucer.
2.
(Zool.)
(a)
Any one of several species of freshwater fishes of the genus
Esox
, esp. the smaller species. (b)
The glasseye, or wall-eyed pike. See
Wall-eye
. ☞ The federation, or chain, pickerel (
Esox reticulatus
) and the brook pickerel (Esox Americanus
) are the most common American species. They are used for food, and are noted for their voracity. About the Great Lakes the pike is called pickerel. Pickerel weed
(Bot.)
, a blue-flowered aquatic plant (
Pontederia cordata
) having large arrow-shaped leaves. So called because common in slow-moving waters where pickerel are often found.Webster 1828 Edition
Pickerel
PICK'EREL
,Noun.
Definition 2024
pickerel
pickerel
English
Noun
pickerel (plural pickerel or pickerels)
A pickerel.
- A freshwater fish of the genus Esox.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.37:
- I see, that the Pickrell-fish, and the Swallowes live well by her lawes.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.37:
- (Canada) Walleye, A species of gamefish, Sander vitreus, native to the Northern U.S. and Canada with pale, reflective eyes.
Usage notes
- The plural ending in "s" refers especially to multiple varieties (e.g when speaking of multiple species), whereas the other is preferred when speaking of multiple fish of the same kind.