köken: From Middle High German hærinc, herinc, from Old High German hārinc, herinc, from Proto-West Germanic *hāring, *haring, perhaps from a substrate language. The sense of "tent peg" is from to the visual similarity between the fish and long, silver-grey metal pegs. According to Pfeifer, this sense is attested by the late 19th century.
tenon (projecting member used to connect e.g. wooden parts together) · tent peg (peg, driven into the ground, to hold a rope that supports a tent) · stake (territorial division)