porgy

n.; pl. Porgies [ See Paugie. ] 1. (Zool.) (a) The scup. (b) The sailor's choice, or pinfish. (c) The margate fish. (d) The spadefish. (e) Any one of several species of embiotocoids, or surf fishes, of the Pacific coast. The name is also given locally to several other fishes, as the bur fish. [ Written also porgee, porgie, and paugy. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any one of numerous sparoid food fishes, as the jolthead porgy, the sheepshead porgy (Calamus penna) of the West Indies, the grass porgy (Calamus arctifrons) of Florida, and the red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) of Europe. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]