grayling

American  

[grey-ling] / ˈgreɪ lɪŋ /

noun

1. any freshwater fish of the genus Thymallus, related to the trouts but having a longer and higher, brilliantly colored dorsal fin.

2. any of several grayish or brownish satyr butterflies.

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grayling British  

/ ˈɡreɪlɪŋ /

noun

1. any freshwater salmonoid food fish of the genus Thymallus and family Thymallidae, of the N hemisphere, having a long spiny dorsal fin, a silvery back, and greyish-green sides

2. any butterfly of the satyrid genus Hipparchia and related genera, esp H. semele of Europe, having grey or greyish-brown wings

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Etymology

Origin of grayling

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; gray ¹, -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Fish passage has also been opened for other species recorded in the river, including the critically endangered European eel as well as grayling, trout, lamprey, minnow, stone loach, and bullhead.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025

Wildlife advocates petitioned federal officials to protect Arctic grayling in 1991.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 3, 2023

Fish here include Dolly Varden, Arctic char, grayling, all five species of Pacific salmon found in North America, and, perhaps most famously, “leopard” rainbow trout, so nicknamed for their brilliantly colored fine, round spots.

From Washington Post • Sep. 16, 2021

The Germans were looking a little frustrated by their ice hole, and I got the feeling that we weren’t presenting much of a threat to the pike and grayling allegedly massing below us.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 22, 2019

Between them, Matthias and Brother Alf had caught and landed a fully-grown grayling.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques