Pickerel \Pick"er*el\, n. [Dim. of Pike.] [Written also
   pickerell.]
   1. A young or small pike. [Obs.]
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            Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel.
                                                  --Chaucer.
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   2. (Zool.)
      (a) Any one of several species of freshwater fishes of the
          genus Esox, esp. the smaller species.
      (b) The glasseye, or wall-eyed pike. See Wall-eye.
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   Note: The federation, or chain, pickerel (Esox reticulatus)
         and the brook pickerel (Esox Americanus) are the most
         common American species. They are used for food, and
         are noted for their voracity. About the Great Lakes the
         pike is called pickerel.
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   Pickerel weed (Bot.), a blue-flowered aquatic plant
      (Pontederia cordata) having large arrow-shaped leaves.
      So called because common in slow-moving waters where
      pickerel are often found.
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