Pollock
/ˈpɒlək/noun
A North Atlantic food fish of the cod family, especially the Alaska pollock and European pollock.
Did you know?Pollock’s English name is related to a North Sea/Flemish word for a cod-like fish, showing how everyday seafood names often preserve old coastal dialects that survived in trade and fishing communities.
Etymological Timeline
Middle English
English
pollok
“a type of fish, likely a cod-like sea fish”
Early Modern English
English
pollock
“the same fish name, standardized in spelling”
Modern English
English
pollock
“a cod-family fish, especially species in the genus Pollachius”
Related North Sea dialects
Germanic
pollak / polak
“a dialectal fish name for a cod-like fish”