any small gadoid fish of the genera Gaidropsarus, Ciliata, etc (formerly all included in Motella), which have an elongated body with barbels around the mouth and occur mainly in the North Atlantic Ocean
Word origin
C17: from rock1 + -ling1
rockling in American English
(ˈrɑklɪŋ)
nounWord forms: plural-lings or esp collectively -ling
any of several small cods of the genera Enchalyopus and Gaidropsarus, found in the North Atlantic
Word origin
[1595–1605; rock1 + -ling1]This word is first recorded in the period 1595–1605. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Creole, exposure, premium, toss, zero-ling is a suffix of nouns, often pejorative, denoting one concerned with (hireling; underling), or diminutive (princeling; duckling)
Examples of 'rockling' in a sentence
rockling
In among the pools left by the retreating tide were strange fish: eelpout, worm pipefish, five-bearded rockling.