Meanings
ling1
plural lings
- countableuncountableAny 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 fish and spiny dogfish.
1995 December 26, William J. Broad, “Creatures of the Deep Find Their Way to the Table”, in The New York Times- countableespeciallyuncountableA common ling (Molva molva).
ling2
plural lings
- countableuncountableCommon heather (Calluna vulgaris)
Partridges, enjoying their last weeks of security, rose whirring and clattering from among the ling.
1931, Dorothy L. Sayers, The Five Red Herrings1 more example
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 Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 28
ling3
- abbreviationclippinginformaluncountableClipping of linguistics.
Ling4
Synonyms & antonyms
nounwater chestnut whose spiny fruit has two rather than 4 prongs
nouncommon Old World heath represented by many varieties; low evergreen grown widely in the Northern Hemisphere
nounelongated marine food fish of Greenland and northern Europe; often salted and dried
nounelongate freshwater cod of northern Europe and Asia and North America having barbels around its mouth
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
ling · noun
- Middle Englishlenge
- Englishling
From Middle English lenge, of Germanic origin. Cognate with Old Norse langa. Probably related to long.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →ling · noun
- Old Norselyng
- Middle Englishling
- Englishling
From Middle English ling, linge, from Old Norse lyng.
More words from Middle English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Ling · proper noun
From Mandarin 令 (Lìng)， 凌 (Líng) or Eastern Min 林 (Lìng).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian калуна
- калуна (kaluna)Any of various varieties of heather or broom
Catalan llengua de bacallà, bruguerola
- llengua de bacallàAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- bruguerolaAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Czech mník, vřes
- mníkAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- vřesAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Dutch leng
- lengAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
Finnish molva, kanerva
- molvaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- kanervaAny of various varieties of heather or broom
French lotte
- lotteAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
German Besenheide
- BesenheideAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Hungarian gadóchal, csarab
- gadóchalAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- csarabAny of various varieties of heather or broom
- hangaAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Icelandic langa
- langaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
Irish langa, bod mór
- langaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- bod mórAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- fraochAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Italian brugo
- brugoAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Māori hoka, hokarari
- hokaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- hokarariAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
Polish molwa, wrzos
- molwaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- wrzosAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Scottish Gaelic langa, fraoch
- langaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- fraochAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Spanish maruca
- marucaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
Swedish långa, ljung
- långaAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- ljungAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Welsh honos, grug
- honosAny of various marine food fish, of the genus Molva
- grugAny of various varieties of heather or broom
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ling
Cite this entry
ling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ling
“ling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ling. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ling.
Source: ling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.