ˈeel-spear
[f. eel n. + spear.]
A forked or pronged instrument for catching eels by transfixing them as they lie in the mud. (See quots.)
| 1555 Eden Decades W. Ind. (Arb.) 197 Speares..lyke vnto troute speares or yele speares. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry (1679) 235 He beareth..3 Eel-spears argent. 1785 Sportsman's Dict., Eel-spear; this instrument is made for the most part with three forks or teeth, jagged on the sides. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-Bk., Eel-spear, a sort of trident with ten points for catching eels, called in Lincolnshire an eel-stang. |
Hence eel-spearer, eel-spearing vbl. n.
| 1883 G. C. Davies Norfolk Broads v. 40 Here and there was an eel-spearer in his punt. Ibid. xxxi. 244 Eel-spearing is quite an athletic occupation. |