marlin

[mahr-lin]

noun, plural (especially collectively) mar·lin, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) mar·lins.

any large, saltwater game fish of the genera Makaira and Tetrapterus, having the upper jaw elongated into a spearlike structure.

Origin of marlin

1915–20, Americanism; short for marlinespike

marlin

[mahr-lin]

noun

marline.

Marlin

[mahr-lin]

noun

a male given name.

marline

or mar·lin, mar·ling

[mahr-lin]

noun Nautical.

small stuff of two-fiber strands, sometimes tarred, laid up left-handed.

Origin of marline

First recorded in 1375–1425, marline is from the late Middle English word merlin. See marl², line¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for marlin

Contemporary Examples of marlin

One more word about the mineral water industry in Marlin, Texas, and I was about to scream.
Slaves In A Family's Past Haunt The Present
Michael Signer
August 28, 2014
The dedication of State Department diplomats such as Marlin Hardinger—on his fourth year in Lashkar Gah—is breathtaking.
What the Frontier of Afghanistan Tells Us About the War
John Kael Weston
May 11, 2013

Historical Examples of marlin

He did not go from Marlin Town but came the other way—from Washington.
The Tempering
Charles Neville Buck
So that if hes finally fixed on Marlin, he must believe that it has advantages over all the others.
Baseball Joe on the Giants
Lester Chadwick
Yes, sir; the first one I had was a 30-30 Marlin lever type.
Warren Commission (3 of 26): Hearings Vol. III (of 15)
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
One of the rifles was a Marlin saddle carbine, model 336 and the other was a Winchester African rifle with a .458 bore.
The Sex Life of the Gods
Michael Knerr
Mr. Marlin is willing to teach you the technical branches that you would study if you went to Mont Alto.
The Young Wireless Operator--As a Fire Patrol
Lewis E. Theiss

British Dictionary definitions for marlin

marlin

noun plural -lin or -lins

any of several large scombroid food and game fishes of the genera Makaira, Istiompax, and Tetrapturus, of warm and tropical seas, having a very long upper jaw: family IstiophoridaeAlso called: spearfish

Word Origin for marlin

C20: from marlinespike; with allusion to the shape of the beak

marline

marlin less commonly marling (ˈmɑːlɪŋ)

noun

nautical a light rope, usually tarred, made of two strands laid left-handed

Word Origin for marline

C15: from Dutch marlijn, from marren to tie + lijn line

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for marlin

large marine game-fish, 1917, shortening of marlinspike fish (1907), from marlinspike, name of a pointed iron tool used by sailors (see marlinspike). The fish was so called from the shape of its elongated upper jaw.