ˈheriŋ, -rēŋ noun
( plural herring or herrings )
Etymology: Middle English hering, from Old English hǣring; akin to Old Saxon hering herring, Middle Dutch harinc, hareng, herinc, Old High German hārinc, hering
1. : a valuable food fish ( Clupea harengus ) that reaches a length of about one foot, is extraordinarily abundant in the temperate and colder parts of the north Atlantic where it swims in great schools, feeds chiefly on small crustaceans, and approaches the coasts for spawning where it is caught and preserved in the adult state by smoking or salting and in the young state is extensively canned as sardines ; broadly : a fish of the family Clupeidae — often used in combination
California herring
— see alewife , fall herring , glut herring
2. : any of various fishes of families other than Clupeidae that resemble the north Atlantic herring — usually used in combination; see freshwater herring , lake herring , rainbow herring