shad

[ shad ]

/ ʃæd /

noun, plural (especially collectively) shad, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) shads.

a deep-bodied herring, Alosa sapidissima, of Europe and North America, that migrates up streams to spawn, used for food.

any other fish of the genus Alosa or related genera.

any of several unrelated fishes.

Nearby words

shackleton, shackleton, sir ernest henry, shacko, shackup, shacky, shad, shad fly, shadberry, shadbolt, shadbush, shadchan

Origin of shad

before 1050; Old English sceadd (not recorded in ME)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shad

Shad roe is such a fleeting seasonal delicacy, so rich and full of flavor.
Fresh Picks|Ben Pollinger|February 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Shad was conscious of a new sense of freedom and power taking possession of him.
The Gaunt Gray Wolf|Dillon Wallace
Shad felt truly grateful to the two bronzed trappers as he shook their hands and said adieu to them.
The Gaunt Gray Wolf|Dillon Wallace
Perhaps he was just a coward like Jacobi or a beaten bully like Shad.
The Vagrant Duke|George Gibbs

Shad regretfully shook the hands of the old Indian and his wife.
The Gaunt Gray Wolf|Dillon Wallace
Shad are good in their way, but they do not run up the Pamunkey all the year.
Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee|(His Son) Captain Robert E. Lee

British Dictionary definitions for shad

shad

/ (ʃæd) /

noun plural shad or shads

any of various herring-like food fishes of the genus Alosa and related genera, such as A. alosa (allis shad) of Europe, that migrate from the sea to freshwater to spawn: family Clupeidae (herrings)

any of various similar but unrelated fishes

Word Origin for shad

Old English sceadd; related to Norwegian skadd, German Schade shad, Old Irish scatān herring, Latin scatēre to well up

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