fishing (n.)

"the art or practice of trying to catch fish," c. 1300, fysschynge, verbal noun from fish (v.). Figurative use from 1540s. The Old English noun was fiscað.

[O]f all diversions which ingenuity ever devised for the relief of idleness, fishing is the worst qualified to amuse a man who is at once indolent and impatient. [Scott, "Waverly," 1814]

Fishing-boat is from 1732. Fishing rod (1550s) is older than fishing pole (1791). To "go fishing" is as old as Old English on fiscoð gan.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to fishing

fish (v.)

Old English fiscian "to fish, to catch or try to catch fish" (cognates: Old Norse fiska, Old High German fiscon, German fischen, Gothic fiskon), from the root of fish (n.). Related: Fished; fishing.

phishing (n.)

"fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication" [Wikipedia], by 2000 (many sources cite usage from 1995 among hackers, and the thing itself was active by then); an alteration of fishing (n.); perhaps by influence of phreak and the U.S. rock band Phish, which had been performing since 1983.

Trends of fishing

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to Explore

tweed

[London Central Criminal Court minutes of evidence from 1839] This apparently developed from the "Tweed Fishing or Travelling...So celebrated has amateur rod-fishing in the Tweed become, that the proper costume of the sportsman has now become an object...of speculation among the London tailors, one of whom advertises among other articles of dress "Tweed Fishing Trousers."...anglers who have so long established their head-quarters at Kelso, for the purpose of enjoying the amusement of salmon fishing...

reel

Fishing sense of "wind (the line) on a reel" is from 1849....To reel (something) in "recover by winding on the reel after the line has been played" (1881) is an image from fishing....

hazy

supernatural and unlucky aspects in medieval times (among the superstitions: a dead hare should not be brought aboard a fishing...

gain

pursuit, hunting" (source also of Old English waþ "hunting," German Weide "pasture, pasturage," Old Norse veiðr "hunting, fishing...Greek hiemai "move oneself forward, strive, desire;" Lithuanian vyti "to chase, pursue;" Old Norse veiðr "chase, hunting, fishing...

logogriph

1590s, from French logogriphe, from Greek logos "word" (see Logos) + gripos/griphos "riddle," a figurative use, literally "fishing...

catch

late 14c., "device to hold a latch of a door," also "a trap;" also "a fishing vessel," from catch (v.)....

pull

c. 1300, pul, "a fishing net;" mid-14c., "a turn at pulling," from pull (v.). From late 14c. as "an act of pulling."...

c. 1300, serchen, "go through and examine carefully and in detail" (transitive), from Old French cerchier "to search" (12c., Modern French chercher), from Latin circare "go about, wander, traverse," in Late Latin "to wander hither and thither, go round, explore," from circus "cir

chaser

c. 1300, "horse trained for chasing," agent noun from chase (v.), probably in some cases from Old French chaceor "huntsman, hunter." The meaning "water or mild beverage taken after a strong drink" is by 1894, U.S. colloquial. French had chasse (from chasser "to chase") "a drink o

cast

c. 1200, "throw, throw violently, fling, hurl," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kasta "to throw" (cognate with Swedish kasta, Danish kaste, North Frisian kastin), a word of uncertain origin. The meaning "to form in a mold" is late 15c. In the sense of "to throw" it r

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updated on September 25, 2018

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Dictionary entries near fishing

fisher

fisherman

fishery

fish-food

fish-hook

fishing

fishmonger

fishnet

fishpond

fish-story

fish-tail