Definition of Mackerel

1. Noun. Flesh of very important usually small (to 18 in) fatty Atlantic fish.

Group relationships: Common Mackerel, Scomber Scombrus, Shiner
Generic synonyms: Saltwater Fish
Specialized synonyms: Spanish Mackerel, Smoked Mackerel

2. Noun. Any of various fishes of the family Scombridae.

Definition of Mackerel

1. n. A pimp; also, a bawd.

2. n. 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.

Definition of Mackerel

1. Noun. An edible fish of the family Scombridae, often speckled. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Mackerel

1. a marine food fish [n -S]

Medical Definition of Mackerel

1. 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. 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. 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) Origin: 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. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Mackerel

machzor
machzorim
machzors
macies
macilency
macilent
macing
macintosh
macintoshes
mack
mack daddies
mack daddy
mackayite
mackayites
macked
mackerel (current term)
mackerel bird
mackerel birds
mackerel scad
mackerel shad
mackerel shark
mackerel sharks
mackerel sky
mackereler
mackerelers
mackerels
mackinaw
mackinaw boat
mackinaw boats
mackinaw coat

Literary usage of Mackerel

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists, Essex Institute (1880)
"THE FRIGATE mackerel, Auxis ROCHEI, ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. — The United States Fish Commission has obtained numerous specimens of a fish, before entirely ..."

2. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language by William Dwight Whitney (1890)
"Jellyfish, a favorite prey of the mackerel : so called by Gaspe fishermen. ... A kind of bob used in catching" mackerel when they are close to the vessel ..."

3. Foods and Their Adulteration: Origin, Manufacture, and Composition of Food by Harvey Washington Wiley (1917)
"Horse mackerel.—Another species belonging to the mackerel family is the horse ... The horse mackerel is a fish of very great size and is the very largest of ..."

4. Award of the Fishery Commission: Documents and Proceedings of the Halifax by Maurice Delfosse, Ensign Hosmer Kellogg, Alexander Tilloch Galt, United States Dept. of State (1878)
"A. The bay mackerel of that year, or the mackerel caught at the Magdalen Islands ... In tbe shore catch of that year many of the mackerel were caught early, ..."

5. Adams' Illustrative Cases on the Law of Sales by Thomson Gale (Firm) (1893)
"1 mackerel, forty- six barrels ol No. 3 mackerel, and forty- eight barrels filled with salt, together with the salt contained therein. ..."

6. Massachusetts Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Judicial by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1911)
"The plaintiffs' Boston agents sent to the plaintiffs' customers half a dozen samples of five barrels each, which were returned as rusty mackerel. ..."

7. Cyclopaedia of Political Science, Political Economy, and of the Political by John Joseph Lalor (1883)
"In it are employed 77 of the best vessels engaged in summer in the cod and mackerel fisheries. — The Grand bank cod- fishery is participated in by vessels ..."

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