noun
also cap·e·lan ˈkap(ə)lə̇n ; or cap·lin -plə̇n ; or cap·ling -pliŋ, -lə̇n
( -s )
Etymology: Canadian French capelan, from French, codfish, from Old Provençal capelan, cappellan chaplain, codfish, from Medieval Latin cappellanus chaplain — more at chaplain
: a small salmonoid marine fish ( Mallotus villosus ) related to and resembling the smelts that is very abundant off Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Alaska and is used as food and as bait for the cod