A small European freshwater fish resembling a young roach, used as bait or found in streams.
From Dutch 'ablet' or German 'Albel,' possibly related to Old High German 'alba' (white), referring to the fish's pale coloring. The term entered English in the 16th-17th centuries through fishing and naturalist vocabulary.
Ablets are basically the forgotten cousin of fish identification—every old fishing manual mentions them, but modern naturalists almost never do. It's a great example of how common animals can vanish from our vocabulary as fishing practices change!
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