Meaning

noun flesh of a cod-like fish of the Atlantic waters of Europe

noun flesh of any of a number of slender food fishes especially of Atlantic coasts of North America

noun a small fish of the genus Sillago; excellent food fish

originFrom Middle English whityng, whytyng, perhaps an alteration of Old English hwītling (“whiting”), remodelled after white + -ing (diminutive suffix). Related to the colour white. Cognate with Dutch wijting (“whiting”), Old Norse hvítingr (“a kind of whale”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0