Main Entry:: her·ring
Pronunciation:: \ˈher-iŋ, ˈhe-riŋ\
Function:: noun
Inflected Form(s):: plural herring or herrings
Etymology:: Middle English hering, from Old English hǣring; akin to Old High German hārinc herring
Date:: before 12th century

1: either of two food fishes (genus Clupeus): a: one (C. harengus) that is abundant in the temperate and colder parts of the North 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 North Pacific harvested especially for its roe 2: any of a large family (Clupeidae) of soft-finned bony fishes (as the herrings, shads, sardines, and menhadens) that have a laterally compressed body and a forked tail and usually occur in schools

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