ling

Any of various varieties of heather or broom.

Noun

  1. Any of various varieties of heather or broom.

    1. Common heather (Calluna vulgaris)

      • I was sitting by a path on a tussock between some bushes, whence I could overlook the path and a little valley to which it led down, and where nothing but ling and heather grew. - 1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen,...
      • Partridges, enjoying their last weeks of security, rose whirring and clattering from among the ling. - 1931, Dorothy L. Sayers, The Five Red Herrings:

Origin

From Middle English ling, linge, from Old Norse lyng.

Forms

lings ling

Derived

lingy

Noun Entry 2

  1. Any of various codlike saltwater fish often used as food by humans, those of the genus Molva, in the family Lotidae.
    • Other deep creatures now being harvested or targeted as seafood include rattails, skates, squid, red crabs, orange roughy, black oreos, smooth oreos, hoki, blue ling, southern blue whiting, sablefish, black scabbard...

    Hypernyms: lotid gadid gadiform fish vertebrate animal organism creature

    Coordinate Terms: cusk torsk tusk cod hake haddock pollock whiting

    1. (especially) A common ling (Molva molva).

      Hypernyms: lotid gadid gadiform fish vertebrate animal organism creature

      Coordinate Terms: cusk torsk tusk cod hake haddock pollock whiting

Origin

From Middle English lenge, of Germanic origin. Cognate with Old Norse langa. Probably related to long.

Forms

lings ling

Derived

blue ling lingcod common ling

Noun abbreviation, alt of

  1. Clipping of linguistics.