Ma·de·moi·selle n.; pl. Mesdemoiselles
1. A French title of courtesy given to a girl or an unmarried lady, equivalent to the English Miss.
2. Zool. A marine food fish (Sciaena chrysura), of the Southern United States; -- called also yellowtail, and silver perch.
◄ ►
perch n. [Written also pearch.] Zool.
1. Any fresh-water fish of the genus Perca and of several other allied genera of the family Percidæ, as the common American or yellow perch (Perca flavescens syn. Perca Americana), and the European perch (Perca fluviatilis).
2. Any one of numerous species of spiny-finned fishes belonging to the Percidæ, Serranidæ, and related families, and resembling, more or less, the true perches.
Black perch. (a) The black bass. (b) The flasher. (c) The sea bass.
Blue perch, the cunner.
Gray perch, the fresh-water drum.
Red perch, the rosefish.
Red-bellied perch, the long-eared pondfish.
Perch pest, a small crustacean, parasitic in the mouth of the perch.
Silver perch, the yellowtail.
Stone perch, or Striped perch, the pope.
White perch, the Roccus Americanus, or Morone Americanus, a small silvery serranoid market fish of the Atlantic coast.
◄ ►
Sil·ver, a.
1. Of or pertaining to silver; made of silver; as, silver leaf; a silver cup.
2. Resembling silver. Specifically: (a) Bright; resplendent; white. “Silver hair.”
Others, on silver lakes and rivers, bathed
Their downy breast. --Milton.
(b) Precious; costly. (c) Giving a clear, ringing sound soft and clear. “Silver voices.” --Spenser. (d) Sweet; gentle; peaceful. “Silver slumber.” --Spenser.
American silver fir Bot., the balsam fir. See under Balsam.
Silver age Roman Lit., the latter part (a. d. 14-180) of the classical period of Latinity, -- the time of writers of inferior purity of language, as compared with those of the previous golden age, so-called.
Silver-bell tree Bot., an American shrub or small tree (Halesia tetraptera) with white bell-shaped flowers in clusters or racemes; the snowdrop tree.
Silver bush Bot., a shrubby leguminous plant (Anthyllis Barba-Jovis) of Southern Europe, having silvery foliage.
Silver chub Zool., the fallfish.
Silver eel. Zool. (a) The cutlass fish. (b) A pale variety of the common eel.
Silver fir Bot., a coniferous tree (Abies pectinata) found in mountainous districts in the middle and south of Europe, where it often grows to the height of 100 or 150 feet. It yields Burgundy pitch and Strasburg turpentine.
Silver foil, foil made of silver.
Silver fox Zool., a variety of the common fox (Vulpes vulpes, variety argenteus) found in the northern parts of Asia, Europe, and America. Its fur is nearly black, with silvery tips, and is highly valued. Called also black fox, and silver-gray fox.
Silver gar. Zool. See Billfish (a).
Silver grain Bot., the lines or narrow plates of cellular tissue which pass from the pith to the bark of an exogenous stem; the medullary rays. In the wood of the oak they are much larger than in that of the beech, maple, pine, cherry, etc.
Silver grebe Zool., the red-throated diver. See Illust. under Diver.
Silver hake Zool., the American whiting.
Silver leaf, leaves or sheets made of silver beaten very thin.
Silver lunge Zool., the namaycush.
Silver moonfish.Zool. See Moonfish (b).
Silver moth Zool., a lepisma.
Silver owl Zool., the barn owl.
Silver perch Zool., the mademoiselle, 2.
Silver pheasant Zool., any one of several species of beautiful crested and long-tailed Asiatic pheasants, of the genus Euplocamus. They have the tail and more or less of the upper parts silvery white. The most common species (Euplocamus nychtemerus) is native of China.
Silver plate, (a) domestic utensils made of a base metal coated with silver. (b) a plating of silver on a base metal.
Silver plover Zool., the knot.
Silver salmon Zool., a salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) native of both coasts of the North Pacific. It ascends all the American rivers as far south as the Sacramento. Called also kisutch, whitefish, and white salmon.
Silver shell Zool., a marine bivalve of the genus Anomia. See Anomia.
Silver steel, an alloy of steel with a very small proportion of silver.
Silver stick, a title given to the title field officer of the Life Guards when on duty at the palace. [Eng.] --Thackeray.
Silver tree Bot., a South African tree (Leucadendron argenteum) with long, silvery, silky leaves.
Silver trout, Zool. See Trout.
Silver wedding. See under Wedding.
Silver whiting Zool., a marine sciaenoid food fish (Menticirrus littoralis) native of the Southern United States; -- called also surf whiting.
Silver witch Zool., A lepisma.
silver perch
n 1: small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found
along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico
[syn: mademoiselle, Bairdiella chrysoura]
2: small silvery food and game fish of eastern United States
streams [syn: white perch, Morone americana]