What is "whiting"

Harvest \Har"vest\ (h[aum]r"v[e^]st), n. [OE. harvest, hervest, AS. h[ae]rfest autumn; akin to LG. harfst, D. herfst, OHG. herbist, G. herbst, and prob. to L. carpere to pluck, Gr. karpo`s fruit. Cf. Carpet.]

1. The gathering of a crop of any kind; the ingathering of the crops; also, the season of gathering grain and fruits, late summer or early autumn.

   Seedtime and harvest . . . shall not cease.
   --Gen. viii. 2

2. At harvest, when corn is ripe.
   --Tyndale.

   2. That which is reaped or ready to be reaped or gathered; a crop, as of grain (wheat, maize, etc.), or fruit.

   Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
   --Joel iii. 1

3. To glean the broken ears after the man That the main harvest reaps.
   --Shak.

   3. The product or result of any exertion or labor; gain; reward.

   The pope's principal harvest was in the jubilee.
   --Fuller.

   The harvest of a quiet eye.
   --Wordsworth.

   Harvest fish (Zo["o]l.), a marine fish of the Southern United States ( Stromateus alepidotus); -- called whiting in Virginia. Also applied to the dollar fish.

   Harvest fly (Zo["o]l.), an hemipterous insect of the genus Cicada, often called locust. See Cicada.

   Harvest lord, the head reaper at a harvest. [Obs.]
   --Tusser.

   Harvest mite (Zo["o]l.), a minute European mite ( Leptus autumnalis), of a bright crimson color, which is troublesome by penetrating the skin of man and domestic animals; -- called also harvest louse, and harvest bug.

   Harvest moon, the moon near the full at the time of harvest in England, or about the autumnal equinox, when, by reason of the small angle that is made by the moon's orbit with the horizon, it rises nearly at the same hour for several days.

   Harvest mouse (Zo["o]l.), a very small European field mouse ( Mus minutus). It builds a globular nest on the stems of wheat and other plants.

   Harvest queen, an image representing Ceres, formerly carried about on the last day of harvest.
   --Milton.

   Harvest spider. (Zo["o]l.) See Daddy longlegs.

Kingfish \King"fish`\ (k[i^]ng"f[i^]sh`), n. (Zo["o]l.)

1. An American marine food fish of the genus Menticirrus, especially Menticirrus saxatilis, or Menticirrus nebulosos, of the Atlantic coast; -- called also whiting, surf whiting, and barb.

2. The opah.

3. The common cero; also, the spotted cero. See Cero.

4. The queenfish.

Barb \Barb\ (b[aum]rb), n. [F. barbe, fr. L. barba beard. See Beard, n.]

1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.

   The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his mouth.
   --Walton.

2. A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners. [Obs.]

3. pl. Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.]

4. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. ``Having two barbs or points.''
   --Ascham.

5. A bit for a horse. [Obs.]
   --Spenser.

6. (Zo["o]l.) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather.

7. (Zo["o]l.) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; -- also improperly called whiting.

8. (Bot.) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.

Etymology 1 n. A fine white chalk used in paints, putty, whitewash etc. Etymology 2

n. 1 A fish, (taxlink Merlangius merlangus species noshow=1), similar to cod, found in the North Atlantic. 2 Any of several marine fish found in North American coastal waters, including (taxlink Merluccius bilinearis species noshow=1) (the silver hake).

1. n. flesh of a cod-like fish of the Atlantic waters of Europe

2. flesh of any of a number of slender food fishes especially of Atlantic coasts of North America

3. a small fish of the genus Sillago; excellent food fish

4. any of several food fishes of North American coastal waters

5. found off Atlantic coast of North America [syn: silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis]

6. a food fish of the Atlantic waters of Europe resembling the cod; sometimes placed in genus Gadus [syn: Merlangus merlangus, Gadus merlangus]

Whiting is the name of

• powdered and washed white chalk (calcium carbonate), used in metal polish, putty, and whitewash, and sometimes added to paint to improve the paint's opacity

A number of Actinopterygiian fish have been given the common name whiting.

The surname Whiting is of Saxon origin meaning 'the white or fair offspring'. The Saxon suffix "-ing" denotes 'son of' or 'offspring'. It is a patronymic name from the Old English pre-7th Century 'Hwita' meaning 'the white' or 'fair one'. The surname first appears in documentation from the late 11th Century and has a number of variant forms ranging from 'Whiteing', and 'Whitting' to 'Witting'. However, the name was first found in Devon where it was seated both before and after the Norman Conquest.