▪ I. fishing, vbl. n.1
(ˈfɪʃɪŋ)
[f. fish v. + -ing1.]
1. The action of the vb. fish. a. The action, art, or practice of catching fish.
| c 1300 Cursor M. 13278 (Cott.) Petre and andreu..wit þair fissing war þai fedd. 1464 Nottingham Rec. II. 374 For a lyne boght for the same fisshyng. 1570 Act 13 Eliz. c. 11 §3 Such Cods and Lings as they shall happen to take..by their own fishing. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iii. 105 The best fishing that the whole Ocean yeeldeth, is upon the coasts of Orknay and Zetland. 1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint II. i. 19 Representations in miniature of the..huntings, fishings, and productions of the country. 1814 Scott Wav. iv, Of all diversions..fishing is the worst qualified to amuse a man who is at once indolent and impatient. |
b. proverbs.
| 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1562) D iv, It is..yll fyshyng before the net. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 695 There is no fishing so good as in troubled waters. a 1665 J. Goodwin Filled w. the Spirit xiii. (1670) 362 Those Proverbial Sayings; There is no fishing like to a fishing in the sea, no service like the Service of a King. 1671 F. Phillips Reg. Necess. 432 It grew into a Proverb amongst us not yet forgotten, No fishing to the Sea, no Service to the King. |
c. transf. and
fig. Also with advbs., as
about,
out,
up (see senses of the
vb.).
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. iv. 19 The newe fyshyng, whiche serued..wyth the nette of the Gospell to catche men. 1641 Hinde J. Bruen vii. 27 Witnesse hereof, in parents such fishing for heires. 1720 Lond. Gaz. No. 5909/2 Forbidding..either the fishing up, or receiving any of the..Effects that might be driven on the Coast. 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. 79 Why..is all this fishing about for something when there is nothing? 1889 Century Dict., Fishing out, the removal of fish from a fish-pond, the ‘drawing’ of a pond. |
2. to go (also ME. wade) a-fishing:
a. lit. (
OE. had
on fiscoð gán).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2198 For ȝe beþ men bet iteiȝt to ssofle & to spade To cartstaf & to ploustaf & a wissinge [v. rr. a fischyng, in fuschinge, to fysschynge] to wade. |
b. transf. (
nonce-use) To rob on the highways.
| 1608 Pennyless Parl. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 78 Soldiers, that have no means to thrive by plain dealing..go a-fishing on Salisbury Plain. |
3. The privilege or right of catching fish in certain waters;
common fishing and
several fishing = common and
several fishery: see
fishery 4.
| 1495 Act 2 Hen. VII c. 62 §1 The Mede called the Kingis Mede and half the fysshing of the Watir called Temise. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 9 Also of mylnes seuerall fysshinges and commen fysshinges what they be worthe. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. 110 Hath the Lord of the Mannor any peculiar fishing within any river. 1788 Filey Inclos. Act 24 Wrecks, fishings, and all other royalties. |
4. A place or facilities for catching fish; fishing-ground, fishery.
| 1596 Spenser State Irel. (1633) 95 A good towne, having..a plentifull fishing. 1641 in J. Knox View Brit. Emp. (1785) II. 397 The Imployment of the Fishermen..till they come to their Fishings outwards bound. 1795 J. Richardson in J. Robertson Agric. Perth 377 Upon the Tumble..there are scattered fishings belonging to different proprietors. 1815 Scott Guy M. vii, Ellangowan's hen-roosts were plundered..and his fishings poached. |
5. attrib. and
Comb.:
a. simple
attrib. (sense 1) as
fishing-bark,
fishing-basket,
fishing-boat,
fishing-box,
fishing-craft,
fishing expedition,
fishing-gear,
fishing-ground,
fishing-hook,
fishing-house,
fishing-hutch,
fishing-light,
fishing-limit,
fishing-line,
fishing-net,
fishing-party,
fishing-pen,
fishing-port,
fishing rights,
fishing-season,
fishing-ship,
fishing-smack,
fishing-spear,
fishing-tackle,
fishing-town,
fishing-trade,
fishing trip,
fishing-village,
fishing-weir,
fishing-worm.
| 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. III. 349 The list..included *fishing-barks and small coasters. |
| 1838 James Robber i, The *fishing-basket under the arm. |
| 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. v. §1 Several *fishing-boats and lighters, gliding up and down. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xiii, They had received information from the men of a fishing-boat. |
| 1870 Law Rep. Comm. Pleas V. 659 A *fishing-box..so arranged that a fish going into it cannot get out. |
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 31 If they are not provided with Hooks, Lines or Harpoons or any other *Fishing-Craft. 1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 91 Stranraer was the rendezvous of the..fishing craft. |
| 1961 E. S. Gardner Case Bigamous Spouse (1967) xv. 203, I am not going to permit counsel to go on a *fishing expedition. 1966 A. Sachs Jail Diary iii. 38 They..seemed to be on a fishing expedition. |
| 1839 Knickerbocker XIII. 406 To throw by my *fishing gear, and sit upon rocks. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man 19 The Swiss archæologist has found abundant evidence of fishing-gear. |
| 1641 in J. Knox View Brit. Emp. (1785) II. 397 They are to..make them [nets]..in a readinesse against they come to the *fishing grounds. |
| 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 350 They had neither *fishing-hook or nets. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 237 Your small fishing hooks. |
| 1676 Cotton Angler i. 9, I have lately built a little *Fishing House upon it [the river], dedicated to Anglers. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Selsey, This peninsula has several fishing-houses towards the shore. |
| 1868 Law Rep. Queen's B. III. 289 The water..is used to supply the mill..and also a *fishing-hutch or trap. |
| 1832 T. W. Magrath Let. Jan. in T. Radcliff Lett. f. Upper Canada (1833) xiii. 215 At night the shore was brilliant with the *fishing lights in the canoes. 1845 C. M. Kirkland Western Clearings 120 Nobody broke his windows or pulled the shingles off his roof to make fishing-lights or quail-traps. |
| 1963 Times 14 Jan. 6/7 The Anglo-Danish *fishing-limit compromise. |
| 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 212 My mastyr paid hym for v. *fyshenge lynes. 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times 375 Their fishing-lines were made of the bark of the Erowa. |
| 1530 in Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 145 A vowlyng nett and a *ffyshing nett. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 105 He would soon destroy their Canvas and Fishing-Nets. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 17 Enoch Arden..play'd Among..swarthy fishing-nets..and boats up-drawn. |
| 1765 Jrnl. French Traveller 20 June in Amer. Hist. Rev. (1922) XXVII. 72 We went to a *fishing party out in the Bay. 1838 C. Gilman Recoll. Southern Matron xxvi. 176 Fishing parties, and the chase soon occupied his leisure moments. 1849 F. Parkman Calif. & Oregon Trail 35 She sat down and entertained us..with anecdotes of fishing-parties. |
| 1791 W. Jessop Rep. Thames & Isis 20 The Sills of the old Lock and *Fishing Pen may be raised 18 Inches. |
| 1897 Kipling Capt. Cour. 253 Some sort of poem about a *fishing-port called Brixham. 1930 Daily Express 8 Sept. 9/5 He reached Porthleven, a fishing port in Mount's Bay, at ten o'clock on Tuesday morning. |
| 1936 Discovery May 139/2 The rivers and the *fishing rights belong to the riparian owners. |
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 12 Where the Indian Fishers..lye in the *Fishing-Seasons. |
| 1785 J. Knox View Brit. Emp. I. 319 Several *fishing-ships from Kinsale take abundance of ling every year. |
| Ibid. I. 302 *Fishing-smacks from Harwich. 1876 J. Saunders Lion in Path vii, The tiny fleet of fishing-smacks were all hauled up together on the shingle. |
| 1840 C. F. Hoffman Greyslaer i. xi. 122 The torches..enable them..to approach sufficiently near to destroy him with their *fishing spears. |
| 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3935/4 A Vellum Pocket-Book, with some *Fishing-Tackle in it. 1813 Examiner 15 Feb. 102/1 B. George..fishing-tackle-maker. |
| 1699 in J. Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 325 It was formerly a small *fishing-town. |
| 1662 J. Smith England's Improv. Reviv'd (1670) 258 The *Fishing-Trade, being in our own Seas, and on our own ground. |
| 1909 ‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny 36 Mr. Robert mentioned his intended *fishing-trip. 1943 J. S. Huxley TVA vii. 51 About a million and a half individual fishing trips..were made on the new TVA lakes. |
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 124 At this Opening is a small *Fishing Village. |
| 1870 Law Rep. Comm. Pleas V. 659 A *fishing-weir..of solid masonry. |
| 1884 ‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xxxvii. 376 Curled him up like a fishing-worm. |
b. Special comb., as
fishing admiral: see
admiral n. 4;
fishing-breeze, one favourable for fishing;
fishing-crib (see
quot.);
fishing-flake = fish-flake;
fishing-float (see
quots.);
fishing-pole, a pole used as a fishing-rod;
fishing-room (see
quot.);
fishing tool (see
quot. 1963);
fishing-tube (see
quot.);
fishing-wand (
Sc.)
= fishing-rod.
| 1888 E. J. Mather Nor'ard of Dogger 279 There has been a ‘smart *fishing-breeze’ during the night, resulting in a heavy catch. |
| 1886 C. Adams in Longm. Mag. VII. 652 Owing to the increase of fixed engines, called *fishing-cribs. |
| 1861 L. L. Noble After Icebergs 20 We are glad to jump ashore at Mrs. Bridget Kennedy's *fishing-flake. |
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., *Fishing-floats, are little appendages to the line, serving to keep the hook and bait suspended at the proper depth. 1893 Standard Dict., Fishing-float, [U.S.], a scow used in seine-fishing, from which an apron is let down to the bed of the river for the more convenient handling of the seine. |
| 1791 T. B. Hazard Diary 12 Sept. (1930) 127/1, I broke my *Fishing Pole Cought 4 Pickrel 3 Eeels and 6 Trout. 1873 T. B. Aldrich Marj. Daw 75 He rigged himself up a fishing-pole. 1931 J. Buchan Blanket of Dark 52 He was..able to spend long days..on the meres with his fishing pole. 1946 H. S. Pearson Countryman's Cookbook 78 Our hooks and lines were ready, and we had made several fishing poles from slender saplings during the winter. |
| a 1728 in J. Reeves Hist. Newfoundland (1793) ii. 76 In such case should the ships *fishing rooms of that harbour be taken up before he arrives. 1732 E. Falkingham Let. 4 Oct. in Calendar State Pap. Amer. & W. Indies (1939) 223 And by that means stake out the very best of the antient fishing room and by that pretence claim a right. 1879 E. W. H. Holdsworth in Encycl. Brit. IX. 266 ‘Fishing rooms’ or portions of the shore set apart for the curing and storing of fish. |
| 1886 Century Mag. July 330/1 The ‘*fishing tools’..come into important service when the drilling apparatus or the rope breaks in the well. 1963 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 10 Fishing tools or tackle, tools used to recover objects lost or stuck down a borehole. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 873/2 *Fishing-tube (Microscopy), an open-ended glass tube for selecting a microscopic object in a fluid. |
| 1889 Barrie Window in Thrums 96, I was in the garden putting some rings on a *fishing-wand. |
Add:
[1.] d. The action of attempting to retrieve objects accidentally left or dropped in an oil well.
Cf. *
fish n.4 2 c, *
fish v.
1 2 b.
orig. U.S.| 1886 [see fishing tool, sense 5 b below]. 1916 Johnson & Huntley Production Princ. Oil & Gas Production xii. 129 The contractor..guarantees the completion of the hole; any ‘fishing’ expenses thus fall entirely upon the contractor. 1920 Bull. U.S. Bureau of Mines No. 182. 8 Success in ‘fishing’ primarily depends upon a proper knowledge of tool running. 1956 Petroleum Engineer XXVIII. B54/2 This information will be helpful while fishing. 1978 Oil & Gas Jrnl. 30 Jan. 98/1 Fishing is common, and lost circulation has occurred in several deep tests. 1985 New Yorker 22 Apr. 102/3 Sipperly figured out that fishing meant retrieving drilling equipment that had been inadvertently left in a well bore. |
▪ II. ˈfishing, vbl. n.2 [f. fish v.2 + -ing1.] The action of strengthening or supporting with a fish; see
fish n.2 fishing-key, a kind of fish-plate.
| 1798 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) III. 132 The..two masts, by good fishing will hold fast. 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend xii, I wish I had the fishing of your back that is so bent. 1852 Specif. Bruff's Patent No. 14096. 2 Into this metal clip, which I term a fishing key, the ends of each rail at its junction with the preceding or succeeding rail are received. |
▪ III. fishing, ppl. a. (
ˈfɪʃɪŋ)
[f. as prec. + -ing2.] That fishes.
1. Of an animal: That catches fish. (The names of such animals are sometimes hyphened.)
fishing frog, a fish:
= angler1 2;
fishing eagle,
fishing hawk,
fishing owl = fish-eagle,
-hawk,
-owl (
fish n.1 7).
| 1688 Clayton in Phil. Trans. XVII. 989 The Fishing Hauk is an absolute Species of a Kings-fisher. 1766 Pennant Zool. (1769) III. 94 The fishing frog grows to a large size. 1785 T. Jefferson Notes Virginia (1787) 72 Accipiter piscatorius..Fishing hawk. 1795 S. Hearne Journey from Prince of Wale's Fort 398 Eagles of several sorts are found in the country bordering on Hudson's Bay during the Summer; but none, except the common brown Fishing Eagle, ever frequent the Northern parts. 1835 R. M. Bird Hawks of Hawk-hollow I. vi. 85 They are no true fishing-hawks, after all. Ibid. vii. 94 The Solitude..[was] broken by..the plaintive scream of the fishing eagles. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. (ed. 4) 153 The Fishing cat..is very common in Lower Bengal about Calcutta. 1934 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXVIII. 837 This is the fishing owl of tropical Asia, which goes by the Latin name of Ketupa Flovipes. 1953 G. Durrell Overloaded Ark xiii. 220 The Fishing-Eagles, their black-and-white livery standing out..and their canary-yellow beaks and feet bright in the sun. |
2. Of an accusation, inquiry, etc.: Preferred or put forward in order to elicit information which cannot be gained directly.
| 1831 Peacock Crotchet Castle xv, He again threw out two or three fishing questions. 1844 Ld. Brougham A. Lunel I. ii. 37 So she framed what our lawyers call her fishing question. 1863 H. G. Wilson Sp. bef. Privy Council 3 Merely colourable and fishing Articles of accusation. |
Hence
ˈfishingly adv.| 1837 Lockhart Scott (1839) VIII. 23 One of the College librarians yesterday told Sir W., fishingly, ‘I have been so busy that I have not yet read your Redgauntlet’. 1893 Field 27 May 771/1 The onlooker who is not fishingly inclined. |