sprat

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

sprat, n. [OE. sprot, sprotte, D. sprot; akin to G. sprotte.].

 A small European herring (Clupea sprattus) closely allied to the common herring and the pilchard; -- called also garvie. The name is also applied to small herring of different kinds.  [1913 Webster]

Sprat borer (Zoöl.), the red-throated diver; -- so called from its fondness for sprats. See Diver. -- Sprat loon. (Zoöl.) (a) The young of the great northern diver. [Prov. Eng.] (b) The red-throated diver. See Diver. -- Sprat mew (Zoöl.), the kittiwake gull.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

sprat, n. & v.
--n.
1 a small European herring-like fish, Sprattus sprattus, much used as food.
2 a similar fish, e.g. a sand eel or a young herring.
--v.intr. (spratted, spratting) fish for sprats.

Idiom

a sprat to catch a mackerel a small risk to gain much.

Derivative

spratter n. spratting n.

Etymology

OE sprot