Etymograph

English

ling

Ling comes from Middle English lenge.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lenge
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1995ling

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lenge
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1995ling

Earliest quotation: 1995, William J. Broad, Creatures of the Deep Find Their Way to the Table: “Other deep creatures now being harvested or targeted as…”

The story

Probably related to long.

Every English word from Middle English lenge

Another origin of ling

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lengʷʰ-uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lingwą‘heather, ling’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350lyng‘heather, ling’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ling‘any of various varieties of heather or broom’
  5. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

noun Any of various codlike saltwater fish often used as food by humans, those of the genus Molva, in the family Lotidae.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle English lenge / ling

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