Shad \Shad\ (sh[a^]d), n. sing. & pl. [AS. sceadda a kind of
   fish, akin to Prov. G. schade; cf. Ir. & Gael. sgadan a
   herring, W. ysgadan herrings; all perhaps akin to E. skate a
   fish.] (Zool.)
   Any one of several species of food fishes of the Herring
   family. The American species (Alosa sapidissima formerly
   Clupea sapidissima), which is abundant on the Atlantic
   coast and ascends the larger rivers in spring to spawn, is an
   important market fish. The European allice shad, or alose
   (Alosa alosa formerly Clupea alosa), and the twaite shad
   (Alosa finta formerly Clupea finta), are less important
   species. [Written also chad.]
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   Note: The name is loosely applied, also, to several other
         fishes, as the gizzard shad (see under Gizzard),
         called also mud shad, white-eyed shad, and winter
         shad.
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   Hardboaded shad, or Yellow-tailed shad, the menhaden.

   Hickory shad, or Tailor shad, the mattowacca.

   Long-boned shad, one of several species of important food
      fishes of the Bermudas and the West Indies, of the genus
      Gerres.

   Shad bush (Bot.), a name given to the North American shrubs
      or small trees of the rosaceous genus Amelanchier
      (Amelanchier Canadensis, and Amelanchier alnifolia).
      Their white racemose blossoms open in April or May, when
      the shad appear, and the edible berries (pomes) ripen in
      June or July, whence they are called Juneberries. The
      plant is also called service tree, and Juneberry.

   Shad frog, an American spotted frog (Rana halecina); --
      so called because it usually appears at the time when the
      shad begin to run in the rivers.

   Trout shad, the squeteague.

   White shad, the common shad.
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Mattowacca \Mat`to*wac"ca\, n. [Indian name.] (Zool.)
   An American clupeoid fish (Clupea mediocris), similar to
   the shad in habits and appearance, but smaller and less
   esteemed for food; -- called also hickory shad, tailor
   shad, fall herring, and shad herring.
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Hickory \Hick"o*ry\, n. [North American Indian pawcohiccora
   (Capt. J. Smith) a kind of milk or oily liquor pressed from
   pounded hickory nuts. "Pohickory" is named in a list of
   Virginia trees, in 1653, and this was finally shortened to
   "hickory." --J. H. Trumbull.] (Bot.)
   An American tree of the genus Carya, of which there are
   several species. The shagbark is the Carya alba, and has a
   very rough bark; it affords the hickory nut of the markets.
   The pignut, or brown hickory, is the Carya glabra. The
   swamp hickory is Carya amara, having a nut whose shell is
   very thin and the kernel bitter.
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   Hickory shad. (Zool.)
   (a) The mattowacca, or fall herring.
   (b) The gizzard shad.
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Fall \Fall\, n.
   1. The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force
      of gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the
      yard of ship.
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   2. The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as,
      he was walking on ice, and had a fall.
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   3. Death; destruction; overthrow; ruin.
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            They thy fall conspire.               --Denham.
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            Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit
            before a fall.                        --Prov. xvi.
                                                  18.
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   4. Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office;
      termination of greatness, power, or dominion; ruin;
      overthrow; as, the fall of the Roman empire.
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            Beholds thee glorious only in thy fall. --Pope.
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   5. The surrender of a besieged fortress or town; as, the fall
      of Sebastopol.
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   6. Diminution or decrease in price or value; depreciation;
      as, the fall of prices; the fall of rents.
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   7. A sinking of tone; cadence; as, the fall of the voice at
      the close of a sentence.
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   8. Declivity; the descent of land or a hill; a slope.
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   9. Descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of water
      down a precipice or steep; -- usually in the plural,
      sometimes in the singular; as, the falls of Niagara.
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   10. The discharge of a river or current of water into the
       ocean, or into a lake or pond; as, the fall of the Po
       into the Gulf of Venice. --Addison.
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   11. Extent of descent; the distance which anything falls; as,
       the water of a stream has a fall of five feet.
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   12. The season when leaves fall from trees; autumn.
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             What crowds of patients the town doctor kills,
             Or how, last fall, he raised the weekly bills.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   13. That which falls; a falling; as, a fall of rain; a heavy
       fall of snow.
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   14. The act of felling or cutting down. "The fall of timber."
       --Johnson.
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   15. Lapse or declension from innocence or goodness.
       Specifically: The first apostasy; the act of our first
       parents in eating the forbidden fruit; also, the apostasy
       of the rebellious angels.
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   16. Formerly, a kind of ruff or band for the neck; a falling
       band; a faule. --B. Jonson.
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   17. That part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the
       power is applied in hoisting.
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   Fall herring (Zool.), a herring of the Atlantic (Clupea
      mediocris); -- also called tailor herring, and hickory
      shad.

   To try a fall, to try a bout at wrestling. --Shak.
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