Where does “ling” come from?

Ling comes from Old Norse lyng, from Proto-Germanic lingwą, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European lengʷʰ-, a root of uncertain semantic development.

ling (English): Any of various marine food fish, of the genus...

Definitions

  1. Any of various marine food fish, of the genus...

Ancestry of “ling”, step by step

ling traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English lenge

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlengeling fish of the genus
2Middle Frenchleynge—
3Middle Dutch*lenge—

via Middle English lienge

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlienge—
Every word from Middle Dutch *lenge →Every word from Middle French leynge →Every word from Middle English lenge →