Pickerell

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pickerel \Pick"er*el\, n. [Dim. of {Pike}.] [Written also
     {pickerell}.]
     1. A young or small pike. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel.


                                                    --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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}.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: 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.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]