pilchard

[ pil-cherd ]

/ ˈpɪl tʃərd /

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noun

a small, southern European, marine fish, Sardina pilchardus, related to the herring but smaller and rounder.

any of several related fishes, as Sardinops caeruleus, common off the California coast.

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Origin of pilchard

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier pilcher; origin uncertain

Words nearby pilchard

Pilate, Pontius, Pilates, Pilatus, pilau, pilch, pilchard, Pilcomayo, pilcrow, pile, pilea, pileate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pilchard in a sentence

In its harbour we now saw a large fleet of boats, engaged in the pilchard and mackerel fishery.
A Yacht Voyage Round England|W.H.G. Kingston
The pilchard fishery begins as early as June or July; but then it is further out to sea, sometimes twenty miles out.
The Girl of the Period and Other Social Essays, Vol. II (of 2)|Eliza Lynn Linton
Ruins of the so-called "fish palaces" testify to the failure of the pilchard fishery in the 18th century.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3|Various
Next evening, as half-past eight was striking, he was at his customary post by the river, above the "Dog and Pilchard."
The Cathedral|Sir Hugh Walpole

The pilchard fishery is practically at its best directly off the Quiberon peninsula, opposite Lorient and Concarneau.
Rambles in Brittany|Francis Miltoun

British Dictionary definitions for pilchard

pilchard

/ (ˈpɪltʃəd) /

noun

a European food fish, Sardina (or Clupea) pilchardus, with a rounded body covered with large scales: family Clupeidae (herrings)

a related fish, Sardinops neopilchardus, of S Australian waters

Word Origin for pilchard

C16: pylcher, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012