sprat

[ sprat ]
/ spræt /

noun, plural sprats, (especially collectively) sprat for 1.

a species of herring, Clupea sprattus, of the eastern North Atlantic.
a small or inconsequential person or thing.

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Origin of sprat

1590–1600; variant of earlier sprot, Middle English, Old English (cognate with German Sprott); apparently same word as Old English sprott sprout, twig (for the two meanings cf. sprag2); akin to Old English spryttan to sprout

Words nearby sprat

sprague, sprain, sprain fracture, spraint, sprang, sprat, spratly islands, sprattle, sprawl, sprawly, spray
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for sprat

British Dictionary definitions for sprat

sprat
/ (spræt) /

noun

a small marine food fish, Clupea sprattus, of the NE Atlantic Ocean and North Sea: family Clupeidae (herrings)See also brisling
any of various small or young herrings

Word Origin for sprat

C16: variant of Old English sprott; related to Middle Low German sprott, Norwegian sprot small rod
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