parr

/pɑː(ɹ)/

parr

English Noun Top 31,442

Definition

Young salmon, at a stage between fry and smolt when they feed chiefly on invertebrates but cannot tolerate saltwater.

Etymology

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.