A young or small pike. [1913 Webster]
"Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel." [1913 Webster]
Any one of several species of freshwater fishes of the genus Esox, esp. the smaller species. [1913 Webster]
" The federation, or chain, pickerel (Esox reticulatus) and the brook pickerel (Esox Americanus) are the most common American species. They are used for food, and are noted for their voracity. About the Great Lakes the pike is called pickerel." [1913 Webster]

Pickerel weed (Bot.), a blue-flowered aquatic plant (Pontederia cordata) having large arrow-shaped leaves. So called because common in slow-moving waters where pickerel are often found.

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

Pickerel, n. (pl. same or pickerels) a young pike.

Etymology

ME, dimin. of PIKE(1)

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