Sardine

'Sardine' and 'pilchard' are common names used to refer to various small, oily fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term 'sardine' was first used in English during the early 15th century and may come from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which sardines were once abundant. The terms 'sardine' and 'pilchard” are not precise, and what is meant depends on the region. The United Kingdom's Sea Fish Industry Authority, for example, classifies sardines as young pilchards. One criterion suggests fish shorter in length than 15 cm (6 in) are sardines, and larger fish are pilchards. The FAO/WHO Codex standard for canned sardines cites 21 species that may be classed as sardines; FishBase, a comprehensive database of information about fish, calls at least six species 'pilchard', over a dozen just 'sardine', and many more with the two basic names qualified by various adjectives. 'Sardine' first appeared in English in the 15th century, a loanword from French sardine; derived from Latin sardina, from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη (sardínē) or σαρδῖνος (sardínos), said to be from the Greek 'Sardò' (Σαρδώ), indicating the island of Sardinia. Athenaios quotes a passage from Aristotle mentioning the fish sardinos, referring to the sardine or pilchard. However, Sardinia is around 800 miles (1300 km) distant from Athens: Ernest Klein in his Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (1971) says: 'It is hardly probable that the Greeks would have obtained fish from so far as Sardinia at a time relatively so early as that of Aristotle'. The flesh of some sardines or pilchards is a reddish-brown colour similar to some varieties of red sardonyx or sardine stone: this word derives from σαρδῖον (sardion), from a root meaning 'red', apparently cognate with Sardis, the capital of ancient Lydia (now western Turkey) where it was obtained. The phrase 'packed like sardines' (in a tin) is recorded from 1911. The phrase '...packed up like sardines...' appears in The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction from 1841, and is a translation of '...encaisse comme des sardines' which appears in La Femme, le mari, et l'amant from 1829. Other early appearances of the idiom are '... packed together...like sardines in a tin-box' (1844), and '...packed...like sardines in a can...' (1854).