Obs. Also 7 lamprete, -prid. [Orig. a mere var. of LAMPREY; but the ending was apprehended as the dim. suffix -ET.] A lamprey at a certain stage of growth.
1656. W. D., trans., Comenius’ Gate Lat. Unl., § 153. 45. Others are smooth, slippery, long, as the Eel, the Conger, the Lamprey, the Lamprete.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, II. 325/2. How several sorts of Fish are named according to their Age, or Growth…. A Lamprey, first a Lampron—Grigg, then a Lampret, then a Lamprell, then a Lamprey. A Lampron, first a Barle, then a Barling, then a Lamprell, and then a Lamprey or Lampron.
