from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Capelin \Cape"lin\, n. [Cf. F. capelan, caplan.] (Zool.)
Either of two small marine fishes formerly classified in the
family {Salmonid[ae]}, now within the smelt family
{Osmeridae}: {Mallotus villosus}, very abundant on the coasts
of Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Alaska; or {Mallotus
catervarius}, found in the North Pacific. The Atlantic
variety has been used as a bait for the cod. [Written also
{capelan} and {caplin}.]
[1913 Webster + PJC]
Note: This fish, which is like a smelt, is called by the
Spaniards anchova, and by the Portuguese capelina.
However the {anchovy} used as a food is a different
fish. --Fisheries of U. S. (1884).
[1913 Webster + PJC]