pilchard

Noun

Open English WordNet

Noun (2)

  1. small fatty fish usually cannedSynonyms: sardineType of saltwater fish
  2. small fishes found in great schools along coasts of Europe; smaller and rounder than herringSynonyms: sardineSardina pilchardusType of clupeid fish, clupeidKinds Pacific sardine, Sardinops caeruleaMember of Sardina, genus Sardina
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onerousadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Pil′chard noun

Origin: Cf. It. pilseir, W. pilcod minnows.

Zoology A small European food fish (Clupea pilchardus) resembling the herring, but thicker and rounder. It is sometimes taken in great numbers on the coast of England.

Fools are as like husbands as pilchards are to herrings.— William Shakespeare

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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