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whit·ing² (wītĭng, hwī-)

n. pl. whiting or whit·ings

1. A food fish (Merlangius merlangus) of the eastern North Atlantic and the Black Sea, closely related to and resembling the cod.

2. Any of various marine food fishes having delicate white flesh, especially several hakes of the genus Merluccius and several kingfishes of the genus Menticirrhus.

[Middle English whitynge, from Middle Dutch wijting; see kweit- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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