Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several fishes of the genus Brevoortia, especially B. tyrannus of North American Atlantic waters, used as a source of fish oil, fishmeal, fertilizer, and bait.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A clupeoid fish, Brevoortia tyrannus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) An American marine fish (Brevoortia tyrannus) of the Herring family (Clupeidae), chiefly valuable for its oil and as a component of fertilizers; -- called also mossbunker, bony fish, chebog, pogy, hardhead, whitefish, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several species of fish in the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, used for fish meal, fish oil, fertilizer, and bait.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun shad-like North American marine fishes used for fish meal and oil and fertilizer

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably blend of Narragansett munnawhatteaûg, a herring-like fish (akin to munnohquohteau, he enriches the land, from its use as a fertilizer) and American English dialectal (New England) poghaden, menhaden (probably of Algonquian origin).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Narragansett munnawhatteaug, influenced by poghaden.

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Examples

  • The panel noted, however, that shrimp, crab and an economically important fish called menhaden were "at high risk of being directly affected by dispersant use."

    Success on Surface, Questions Below 2010

  • The Houston company's main products, omega-3 fish oil used as a dietary supplement and fish meal used in pig feed, are derived from a very oily fish called menhaden, more commonly known as "bunker."

    unknown title 2011

  • Catch restrictions loom on menhaden, which is too unsavory to grace a dinner plate but much sought by commercial fishermen.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • The fish are called menhaden, and depending on who's talking, they either

    WN.com - Articles related to Royal Challengers Bangalore elect to bowl against Delhi Daredevils 2010

  • A considerable portion of fish oil comes from a creature upon which the entire Atlantic coastal ecosystem relies, a big-headed, smelly, foot-long member of the herring family called menhaden, which a recent book identifies in its title as "The Most Important Fish in the Sea."

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • The fish are called menhaden, and depending on who's talking, they either are in big trouble or getting along swimmingly.

    The Shad Plank 2010

  • A considerable portion of fish oil comes from a creature upon which the entire Atlantic coastal ecosystem relies, a big-headed, smelly, foot-long member of the herring family called menhaden, which a recent book identifies in its title as "The Most Important Fish in the Sea."

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • The fish are called menhaden, and depending on who's talking, they either

    WN.com - Articles related to Basketball Roundup 2010

  • In conjunction with Mother Jones magazine, NOW investigates how a small, bony fish that we don't even eat-called menhaden-is setting off a political showdown across state lines.

    NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Podcast | PBS 2009

  • In conjunction with Mother Jones magazine, NOW investigates how a small, bony fish that we don't even eat-called menhaden-is setting off a political showdown across state lines.

    NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Podcast | PBS 2009

Comments

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  • cf. moss-bunker

    January 7, 2009

  • Also scuppaug, skippaug, pauhagen, paughaden, poghaden, poggie, poggy, pog, mossbunker

    January 12, 2009

  • That's almost poetic. ;-)

    January 12, 2009

  • "During the daylight hours the fish swordfish work their way down the water column to depths of 3,000 feet, chasing squid, hake, cod, butterfish, bluefish, mackerel, menhaden, and bonito, and at night they follow their prey back up to the surface."

    —Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm, 1997 (NY: HarperCollins, 1999), 51

    August 17, 2009

  • href="http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/685-the-most-important-fish-in-the-sea">The most important fish in the sea. 

    July 18, 2011