porgy

noun

por·​gy ˈpȯr-gē How to pronounce porgy (audio)
plural porgies also porgy
1
: a blue-spotted silvery-red food fish (Pagrus pagrus of the family Sparidae) of the eastern and western Atlantic
also : any of various fishes (such as a scup) of the same family
2
[alteration of pogy] : any of various bony fishes (such as a menhaden) of families other than that of the porgy

Examples of porgy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web His fluid motion — pulling the mesh nets from the water, swapping the old bait for a fresh chunk of porgy — was interrupted only by the occasional water snake on top of a trap or a turtle inside one. Rick Rojas Emily Kask, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 As waves lapped the boat, Mr. Winkler and his pro bono deckhands set about sorting through the pile, throwing back the sea robins, dogfish and porgies as flocks of sea gulls squawked overhead, eager for the castoffs. Karen Zraick Karsten Moran, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023 On this Thursday, the beloved signature whole fried fish is porgy, served over greens, pea shoots and herbs, enveloping the table with aromatic steam, and the server encourages you to drench pieces in ginger vinaigrette and eat it with your hands. Von Diaz, Washington Post, 3 June 2022 The fishing was better there, anyway: Trump and his buddies fished all day long, hauling in fluke, weakfish, and porgies, while beachgoers admired the boat from afar. Thomas J. Campanella, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2019 The current law has been credited with rebuilding 43 stocks since 2000 including Atlantic sea scallops, pacific canary rockfish and Atlantic scup, also known as porgy. Ledyard King, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2018 These deep-bodied, buck-toothed members of the porgy family begin their annual spawning season this month. Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, 3 Feb. 2018 Nearby, the new Barba Bianca is chef Frank DeCarlo's (NYC’s Peasant) ode to the fisherman: a 60-seat nautical spot with dockside dining, serving spaghetti with blue crabs and whole-roasted porgy. Kate Donnelly, CNT, 1 Sep. 2017 Black sea bass and scup (porgy) are still the two most popular fish to target this week in the Western Sound. Hartford Courant, courant.com, 20 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'porgy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of pargo, from Spanish & Portuguese, from Latin phager, from Greek phagros

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of porgy was in 1671

Dictionary Entries Near porgy

Cite this Entry

“Porgy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porgy. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

porgy

noun
por·​gy ˈpȯr-gē How to pronounce porgy (audio)
plural porgies also porgy
: a blue-spotted silvery red food fish of the coasts of Europe and America
also : any of various other related or similar fishes

More from Merriam-Webster on porgy

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