Her"ring (?), n. [OE. hering, AS. haering; akin to D. haring, G. haring, hering, OHG. haring, hering, and prob. to AS. here army, and so called because they commonly move in large numbers. Cf. Harry.] Zool.
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.
Herring gull Zool., a large gull which feeds in part upon herrings; esp., Larus argentatus in America, and L. cachinnans in England. See Gull. -- Herring hog Zool., the common porpoise. -- King of the herrings. Zool. (a) The chimaera (C. monstrosa) which follows the schools of herring. See Chimaera. (b) The opah.
© Webster 1913.