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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Here are two words that sound almost alike and, as used to describe techniques of fishing, are close in meaning- either can refer to fishing with a baited line (although dragging a net is trawling but not trolling). So one might expect that the 2 words are offshoots of a shared ancestor. But not so; here’s what the American Heritage Dictionary says about their origins:
trawl-
Possibly Middle English trawelle, perhaps from Middle Dutch tragel, dragnet, possibly from Latin trÄgula, from trahere, to drag.
troll-
Middle English trollen, to wander about, from Old French troller, of Germanic origin.
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