crappie

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Either of two edible North American sunfishes, the black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) or the white crappie (P. annularis).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A sunfish, Pomoxys annularis, of the family Centrarchidæ, found in the Mississippi. It has a compressed body, incnrved profile, and the relative positions of the dorsal and anal fins are oblique—that is, not directly opposite. There are from 6 to 8 spines in the dorsal and 6 in the anal fin. Its color is a silvery olive with brassy sheen, and mottled with greenish. It is common in the Mississippi valley and the Southern States, and is sometimes esteemed as a food-fish. Also called campbellite, newlight, and bachelor.

Wiktionary

1. n. A member of either of two species of North American sunfish of the genus Pomoxis. Both are silvery-white with black speckles, and prized as gamefish.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) A kind of fresh-water bass of the genus Pomoxys, found in the rivers of the Southern United States and Mississippi valley. There are several species.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. small sunfishes of central United States rivers
2. n. small sunfishes of the genus Pomoxis of central United States rivers