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kiack ((1))
[prob. < Algonk. (Micmac)]
N.S.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Spelling variants:kayak, kiak
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a bony species of herring, Alosa pseudoharengus, of the eastern seaboard and Great Lakes.
See: alewife
Quotations
1849
Sometimes a hundred men, among whom is a sprinkling of Indians, are engaged in taking the "kiacks" from the stream.
1894
"Yes, they belong to the herring family, but we call them kyacks or alewives."
1956
When the salmon come up our river in the month of May they have companions of another kind, the rough-scaled and bony fish we call kiacks. The flesh of the kiack is white and sweet, but it is a chore to eat because of the bones.
1965
"Alewives" is the common name used in Britain and New England, while the MicMac Indians called the fish "kayaks," and in Latin it's Pomolobus pseudoharengus.