[her.ring] n, pl herring or herrings [ME hering, fr. OE haering; akin to OHG harinc herring] (bef. 12c) 1: either of two clupeid food fishes (genus Clupeus): a: one (C. harengus) that is abundant in the temperate and colder parts of the No. Atlantic and that in the adult state is preserved by smoking or salting and in the young state is extensively canned and sold as sardines b: one (C. pallasi syn. C. h. pallasi) of the No. Pacific harvested esp. for its roe
2: clupeid