starling

Etymology

From Middle English starling, sterling, sterlinge, from Old English stærling, from stær (“starling”) + -ling (diminutive suffix). Cognate with Middle Dutch sterlinck (“starling”).

noun

1. A family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds.
   1. The common starling, Sturnus vulgaris, which has dark, iridescent plumage.
2. (hydraulic engineering) An inclosure like a coffer-dam, formed of piles driven closely together, before any work or structure as a protection against the wash of the waves, commonly used to protects the piers of a bridge.
3. One of the piles used in forming such a breakwater.
4. A fish, rock trout (Hexagrammos spp.), of the North Pacific, especially, Hexagrammos decagrammus, found in US waters.