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Webster 1913 Edition

Pilchard

Pil′chard

,
Noun.
[Cf. It.
pilseir
, W.
pilcod
minnows.]
(Zool.)
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.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Pilchard

PIL'CHARD

,
Noun.
A fish resembling the herring, but thicker and rounder; the nose is shorter and turns up; the under jaw is shorter; the back more elevated, and the belly less sharp. These fishes appear on the Cornish coast in England, about the middle of July, in immense numbers, and furnish a considerable article of commerce.

Definition 2024

pilchard

pilchard

English

The European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus).

Noun

pilchard ‎(plural pilchard or pilchards)

  1. Any of various small oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae.
    • 1839, John Hookham Frere (translator), The Birds, lines 76–77, in Acharnians and two other plays
      He longs occasionally for human diet,
      His old Athenian fare: pilchards, for instance.

Usage notes

The terms sardine and pilchard are not precise, and what is meant depends on the region. Often, the smaller fish are termed sardines and the larger ones pilchards.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɪl.tʃəd/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɪl.tʃɚd/

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