Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Herringbone \Her"ring*bone`\ (h[e^]r"r[i^]ng*b[=o]n`), a.
   Pertaining to, or like, the spine of a herring; especially,
   characterized by an arrangement of work in rows of parallel
   lines, which in the alternate rows slope in different
   directions.

   {Herringbone stitch}, a kind of cross-stitch in needlework,
      chiefly used in flannel. --Simmonds.