caplin

US: (kap′lin)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cap•lin  (kap′lin), n. 

1. Fish capelin.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

caplin / ˈkæplɪn/ noun

1. a variant of capelin

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cap•e•lin  (kap′ə lin), n. 

1. Fish either of two small fishes of the smelt family, Mallotus villosus, of coastal North American waters, or M. catervarius, of the North Pacific.

Also, caplin. 

• Old Provencal: codfish, literally, chaplain
• Middle French capelan
• 1610–20, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

capelin / ˈkæpəlɪn/, caplin noun

1. a small marine food fish, Mallotus villosus, occurring in northern and Arctic seas: family Osmeridae (smelts)

Etymology: 17th Century: from French capelan, from Old Provençal, literally: chaplain