shad

[shad]

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.

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

Contemporary Examples of shad

Shad roe is such a fleeting seasonal delicacy, so rich and full of flavor.
Fresh Picks
Ben Pollinger
February 10, 2011

Historical Examples of shad

Captain Shad, after informing them that he would be aboard in a jiffy, drove on to the barn.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
As for Captain Shad, he could only stare, struck speechless by his visitor's audacity.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
It did seem to Captain Shad, however, that his partner had something on his mind.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
Captain Shad's remarks when he first saw that sign may be worth quoting.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
Captain Shad's epistle was more worldly but not more coherent.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for shad

shad

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

Word Origin and History for shad

Old English sceadd "shad," important food fish in the Atlantic, possibly from Scandinavian (cf. Norwegian dialectal skadd "small whitefish"); but cf. Welsh ysgadan (plural), Irish and Gaelic sgadan "herring." OED says Low German schade may be from English.

Its importance suggested by its use in forming the common names of U.S. East Coast plants and wildlife whose active period coincides with the running of the shad up rivers, e.g. shad-bird, shad-bush, shad-flower, shad-fly, shad-frog. From the shape of the fish comes shad-bellied, 1832 in reference to persons, "having little abdominal protuberance;" of coats (1842) "sloping apart in front, cut away," especially in reference to the characteristic garb of male Quakers.