sprat

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small silvery marine fish of the herring family, especially the European sprat, eaten as food or used as bait

   The gull swallowed the sprat in a single gulp.

From Middle English sprotte and Old English sprot. The deeper origin is uncertain, but the word is cognate with Dutch sprot and German Sprotte. Its resemblance to sprout may reflect an old association with something small or newly grown.

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