Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel.
--Chaucer.
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}.
Note: The federation, or chain, pickerel ({Esox reticulatus})
and the brook pickerel ({E. 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.
{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.