Etymology

mackerel

mack·e·rel
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Today it means: Certain smaller edible fish, principally true mackerel and Spanish mackerel in family Scombridae, often speckled, Full definition →

Middle English mackerell ← Old French maquerel
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mackerel · noun1

  1. Old French · derived frommaquerel
  2. Middle English · inherited frommackerell
  3. English todaymackerel

From Middle English mackerell, macrell, macrelle, makarell, makerel, makerell, makerelle, makrel, makrell, makyrelle, from Old French maquerel. Further origin unknown.

mackerel · noun2

  1. Middle Dutch · derived frommakelare
  2. Old French · derived frommaquerel
  3. Middle English · inherited frommakerel
  4. English todaymackerel

From Middle English makerel, maquerel, from Old French maquerel, from Middle Dutch makelare, makelaer (“broker”) (> makelaar (“broker, peddler”)). See also French maquereau.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchmaquerel all →

mack

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.