from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pike \Pike\, n. [F. pique; perhaps of Celtic origin; cf. W. pig
a prick, a point, beak, Arm. pik pick. But cf. also L. picus
woodpecker (see {Pie} magpie), and E. spike. Cf. {Pick}, n. &
v., {Peak}, {Pique}.]
1. (Mil.) A foot soldier's weapon, consisting of a long
wooden shaft or staff, with a pointed steel head. It is
now superseded by the bayonet.
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2. A pointed head or spike; esp., one in the center of a
shield or target. --Beau. & Fl.
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3. A hayfork. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] --Tusser.
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4. A pick. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright. Raymond.
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5. A pointed or peaked hill. [R.]
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6. A large haycock. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
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7. A turnpike; a toll bar. --Dickens.
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8. (Zool.) sing. & pl. A large fresh-water fish ({Esox
lucius}), found in Europe and America, highly valued as a
food fish; -- called also {pickerel}, {gedd}, {luce}, and
{jack}.
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Note: Blue pike, grass pike, green pike, wall-eyed pike, and
yellow pike, are names, not of true pike, but of the
wall-eye. See {Wall-eye}.
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{Gar pike}. See under {Gar}.
{Pike perch} (Zool.), any fresh-water fish of the genus
{Stizostedion} (formerly {Lucioperca}). See {Wall-eye},
and {Sauger}.
{Pike pole}, a long pole with a pike in one end, used in
directing floating logs.
{Pike whale} (Zool.), a finback whale of the North Atlantic
({Bal[ae]noptera rostrata}), having an elongated snout; --
called also {piked whale}.
{Sand pike} (Zool.), the lizard fish.
{Sea pike} (Zool.), the garfish
(a) .
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pickerel \Pick"er*el\, n. [Dim. of {Pike}.] [Written also
{pickerell}.]
1. A young or small pike. [Obs.]
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Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel.
--Chaucer.
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2. (Zool.)
(a) Any one of several species of freshwater fishes of the
genus {Esox}, esp. the smaller species.
(b) The glasseye, or wall-eyed pike. See {Wall-eye}.
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Note: The federation, or chain, pickerel ({Esox reticulatus})
and the brook pickerel ({Esox Americanus}) are the most
common American species. They are used for food, and
are noted for their voracity. About the Great Lakes the
pike is called pickerel.
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{Pickerel weed} (Bot.), a blue-flowered aquatic plant
({Pontederia cordata}) having large arrow-shaped leaves.
So called because common in slow-moving waters where
pickerel are often found.
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