A person who catches or sells herrings, or a ship used in herring fishing.
From 'herring' + the agent suffix '-er,' meaning someone who works with herrings. The term emerged in medieval English when herring fishing was a major industry in the North Sea.
Herrings were so important to medieval European economies that the Netherlands became wealthy partly through herring trade—they even had a saying that Amsterdam was built on herring bones. The skill of 'herringers' to preserve and pack fish led to modern canning technology.
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