▪ I. sterlet1
(ˈstɛːlɪt)
Also 6 sterledey, 7 sterledy, 8 starlett, sterled, -ett, -id, (? pl. sterlitz), 8–9 sterlit, (9 sterelet).
[a. Russ. sterlyad{supi}. Cf. G. and F. sterlet.]
A small species of sturgeon, Acipenser ruthenus, found in Russia.
| 1591 G. Fletcher Russe Commw. (Hakl. Soc.) 12 Of ickary or cavery, a great quantitie is made..out of..the severiga, and the sterledey. 1698 New Descr. Moscovy 22 The Severinga or Sterledy, somewhat in fashion and tast like a Sturgeon, but not so thick nor long. 1698 A. Brand Embassy fr. Muscovy into China 126 Among the Fish, the Sterlet is counted one of the most delicious in Russia. 1753 Hanway Trav. (1762) I. ii. xix. 83 The principal sorts are sturgeon, starlett, beluga and assotra. 1762 tr. Busching's Syst. Geog. I. 380 The Kosteri has rougher scales than the Sturgeon or the Sterled. 1782 P. H. Bruce Mem. iv. 112 Some vessels going for Petersburgh, with live fish, called sterlit,..were beat to pieces. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 74 Different sorts of sturgeon..viz. the common sturgeon, the beluga, the sterlid, &c. 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 46 The best isinglass is yielded by the Sterlet and by Acipenser huso. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 340 Hatched sterlit preserved in spirits. 1915 B. Digby in Travel July 23 Sterelet, one of the numerous kinds of fishes found in Baikal, is usually smoked and eaten raw. |
| attrib. 1860 Wraxall Life in Sea v. 124 Prince Potemkin is said to have frequently paid three hundred roubles for a Sterlet soup. |
▪ II. ˈsterlet2
[? For *sternlet, dim. of stern n.1; cf. sternet.]
? The Lesser Tern, Sterna minuta.
| 1703 La Hontan's Voy. N. Amer. I. 240 The Seamews, Grelans, and Sterlets, are fowls that fly incessantly over Seas, Lakes, and Rivers. |