Etymograph

English

fishing

Fishing comes from Middle English fischynge.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fischynge1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1596fishing1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fishing
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser: “the rent of the fishings”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fischyngeWiktionary, English fishing
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1596fishingWiktionary, English fishing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser: “the rent of the fishings”

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Today it means

noun The act of catching fish.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fishing”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English fischynge / fishing