The North Atlantic fish known as the herring, long an important source of food in Britain, has had its current name for over thirteen hundred years. The name may have developed from the Old English word here, meaning army or multitude, in reference to the huge schools of herring that swim to the coast of Europe in certain seasons to spawn. More likely, however, is the possibility that herring developed from the Old English har, meaning grey or grizzled, because the fish is grey in colour. If so, then herring is related to hoarfrost—the grey frost that covers everything after a humid, frigid night—and perhaps also to hare, a rabbitlike animal that may take its name from its grey fur.
This pertains to a fish with a slender body, soft fins, and a forked tail that is commonly found in large quantities in the North Atlantic. It is sought after for its delicious, oily flesh.