Esox Americanus

Pickerel Pick"er*el, n. [Dim. of {Pike}.] [Written also {pickerell}.] 1. A young or small pike. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2. (Zo["o]l.) (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}. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

{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. [1913 Webster]