Etymology

parr

P3A1R1R1

Today it means: Young salmon, at a stage between fry and smolt when they feed chiefly on invertebrates but cannot tolerate saltwater. Full definition →

Middle English parren
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromparren“to enclose”
  2. English todayparr

Compare Scottish Gaelic bradan (“salmon”). For the salmon life stage, the word originates from the Middle English parren (“to enclose”), referring to the spots running along the side of the fish, resembling the bars of a fence.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.