Common name of Isurus oxyrinchus
 
Common name Sharpnose mackerel shark
Language English
Type Vernacular
Official trade name No
Rank 2 - (Preferred common name (unique))
Country Trinidad and Tobago
Locality
Ref. Zaneveld, J.S., 1983
Life stage juveniles and adults
Sex females and males
Core primary lexeme
1st modifier other fish
2nd modifier morphology
Remarks 'shark', of obscure origins but appears to have been introduced to English in the late 1560s by members of Sir John Hawkins' expedition (a ballad of 1569 recorded 'There is no proper name for [the fish] that I know, but that certain men of Captain Hawkins' doth call it a shark'), but it is not known where they got it from. A resemblance to Austrian dialect 'schirk', i.e., sturgeon has been noted (p. 471 in Ref. 11979); 'mackerel', from Middle English 'makerel' from Middle French (p. 714 in Ref. 11978) 'maquereau', i.e., side dishes (p. 443 in Ref. 9404).
 
Comments & Corrections
Back to Search
cfm script by eagbayani, 11.10.04 ,  php script by rolavides, 25/03/08 ,  last modified by sortiz, 06/27/17