capelin

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small silvery smelt, Mallotus villosus, of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans that gathers in large schools to spawn near shore

   Seabirds crowded above the bay when the capelin moved inshore to spawn.

Borrowed from French capelan, from an Occitan word also meaning "chaplain," ultimately from Late Latin cappellanus. The fish name may refer humorously to dark markings likened to a cleric's cap or clothing.

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