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

Very angry he was, and he reminded me of a Marlin swordfish.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
No boatman fears a Marlin as he does the true broadbill swordfish.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
Marlin are not food fish, and they are thrown to the sharks.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
But there are no more fish there, except Marlin swordfish in August and September.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
All of which accounts for his quick conquering of a Marlin swordfish.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey

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.