sparling

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English sperlynge, shortened from Old French esperlinge, a Germanic borrowing, found in German Spiering, Spierling, Middle Low German spirling, Middle Dutch spierling, suffixed from the word now Dutch spier (“spar, pole; muscle”). See also sparrow for a homonymic bird-name. === Noun === sparling (plural sparlings) (Scotland) A European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus). Synonym: (obsolete) sperling ==== Derived terms ==== sperling (“(US) young herring”) === References === “sparling”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. === Anagrams === graplins, laspring, springal