herring Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled
  2. noun commercially important food fish of northern waters of both Atlantic and Pacific
    Clupea harangus.

WordNet

Her"ring noun
Etymology
OE. hering, AS. hæring; akin to D. haring, G. häring, hering, OHG. haring, hering, and prob. to AS. here army, and so called because they commonly move in large numbers. Cf. Harry.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) One of various species of fishes of the genus Clupea, and allied genera, esp. the common round or English herring (C. harengus) of the North Atlantic. Herrings move in vast schools, coming in spring to the shores of Europe and America, where they are salted and smoked in great quantities.

Webster 1913