pickerel

American  

[pik-er-uhl, pik-ruhl] / ˈpɪk ər əl, ˈpɪk rəl /

noun

pickerel, plural pickerels plural

1. any of several small species of pike, as Esox niger chain pickerel and E. americanus americanus redfin pickerel, of eastern North America.

2. the walleye or pikeperch, Stizostedion vitreum.

3. British. a young pike.

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pickerel British  

/ ˈpɪkərəl, ˈpɪkrəl /

noun

1. any of several North American freshwater game fishes, such as Esox americanus and E. niger: family Esocidae (pikes, walleye, etc)

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• pickerel
  plural
• pickerels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pickerel

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pickerel, pekerel; see origin at pike ¹, -erel

Example Sentences

The list includes two fish: the endangered redfin pickerel and the threatened swamp darter.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 24, 2021

Rice plants are also squeezed by competing species like pickerel weed, which absorbs sunlight and essential nutrients.

From Scientific American • Jun. 1, 2020

Case in point: In the first and best essay in this collection, he vividly introduces the latest thing-you-didn’t-know-you-cared-about: the chain pickerel, a fish with a “culinary quality … in inverse proportion to its size.”

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2018

One meal a month of chain pickerel and warmouth.

From Washington Times • Apr. 11, 2018

That night the Nurmis were having fresh pickerel, cooked in the old-country way with the head still on and surrounded by potatoes.

From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford