Gar

n. [A-S. gar, dart, spear, lance. The name is applied to the fish on account of its long and slender body and pointed head.] (Ichth.) (a.) A fish of the pike or Esox family, of the genus Belone, having a long, pointed head, as the B. vulgaris, or sea-pike, of European shores, the B. truncata, or banded gar-fish, of the American coast. (b.) A ganoid fish of the genus Lepidosteus, having a similar general form to the above, but with rhombic scales, found in fresh waters, as those of America. One species, the alligator-gar, has some resemblance, in the form of its head, to that of an alligator, and attains a length of ten feet.