MACKERELS
Noun
mackerels
plural of mackerel
Source: Wiktionary
MACKEREL
Mack"er*el, n. Etym: [OF. maquerel, F. maquereau, fr. D. makelaar
mediator, agent, fr. makelen to act as agent.]
Definition: A pimp; also, a bawd. [Obs.] Halliwell.
Mack`er*el, n. Etym: [OF. maquerel, F. maquereau (LL. macarellus),
prob. for maclereau, fr. L. macula a spot, in allusion to the
markings on the fish. See Mail armor.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any species of the genus Scomber, and of several related
genera. They are finely formed and very active oceanic fishes. Most
of them are highly prized for food.
Note: The common mackerel (Scomber scombrus), which inhabits both
sides of the North Atlantic, is one of the most important food
fishes. It is mottled with green and blue. The Spanish mackerel
(Scomberomorus maculatus), of the American coast, is covered with
bright yellow circular spots. Bull mackerel, Chub mackerel. (Zoöl.)
See under Chub.
– Frigate mackerel. See under Frigate.
– Horse mackerel . See under Horse.
– Mackerel bird (Zoöl.), the wryneck; -- so called because it
arrives in England at the time when mackerel are in season.
– Mackerel cock (Zoöl.), the Manx shearwater; -- so called because
it precedes the appearance of the mackerel on the east coast of
Ireland.
– Mackerel guide. (Zoöl.) See Garfish (a).
– Mackerel gull (Zoöl.) any one of several species of gull which
feed upon or follow mackerel, as the kittiwake.
– Mackerel midge (Zoöl.), a very small oceanic gadoid fish of the
North Atlantic. It is about an inch and a half long and has four
barbels on the upper jaw. It is now considered the young of the genus
Onos, or Motella.
– Mackerel plow, an instrument for creasing the sides of lean
mackerel to improve their appearance. Knight.
– Mackerel shark (Zoöl.), the porbeagle.
– Mackerel sky, or Mackerel-back sky, a sky flecked with small
white clouds; a cirro-cumulus. See Cloud.
Mackerel sky and mare's-tails Make tall ships carry low sails. Old
Rhyme.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition