THE SPANISH MACKEREL AND THE CEROES. 197 



often expresses no more than size or coarseness — as in qualifying the 

 words laugh, mushroom, chesnut, or radish, — it is quite possible in this 

 case that it may merely be the translation of cavallo, which in that lan- 

 guage not only means horse, but Mackerel as well. Concerning the 

 opprobrious employm.ent of this word to designate a certain class of \il- 

 lains, called in Latin Iciioucs, ard ruffiani in Italian, ]\I. Lacepede, after 

 Belon, gives the following interpretation — ' C'est a raison de la rencontre 

 des maquereaux avec les petits aloses ou pucelles vers le temps ou celles-ci 

 vont frayer avec les males, qu'on a donne ce vilain nom (maquererau), 

 qu'il porte en France et dans quelques autres pays.' " 



