Meaning

noun flesh of fish found in colder waters of northern Atlantic coast of the United States

noun lean flesh of fish found in warm waters of southern Atlantic coast of the United States

noun porgy of southern Atlantic coastal waters of North America

originShortened form of Narragansett mishcùp (“porgy”) or its plural mishcùppaûog. The singular was also borrowed as mishcup, while another shortening of the plural yields the synonym paugie. The word was also borrowed as scuppaug.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0