noun

herring

HAIR-ing/ˈherɪŋ/

A small oily fish that lives in large groups and is eaten as food.

The fresh herring lies beside a jar of its pickled pieces.

A whole fresh herring beside a small open jar of pickled herring pieces, combining recognizable fish anatomy with its familiar food use.

Etymology

Old English hering already named this fish, so the modern food-fish sense continues an old name. Its deeper origin is unknown; proposed links to gray coloring or movement in large schools remain uncertain.

In context

Forgotten Servant Kitchens10:14

Number 11. Red herring. Salt herring was the workhous's idea of fish, and the inmates called it the red herring

20 Forgotten Foods Victorian Workhouse Inmates Were Forced to Eat

More examples

We watched a school of herring beneath the boat.
She served smoked herring for lunch.
Several herrings flashed silver in the net.

Forms

herring · herrings