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alewife - 6 dictionary results
ale⋅wife
1
[eyl-wahyf] 
–noun, plural -wives.
| a North American fish, Alosa pseudoharengus, resembling a small shad. |
Origin:
1625–35, Americanism; earlier allowes, perh. influenced by alewife 2 , prob. < F alose shad < Gallo-Latin alausa
1625–35, Americanism; earlier allowes, perh. influenced by alewife 2 , prob. < F alose shad < Gallo-Latin alausa
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To alewife
| ale·wife 1 (āl'wīf') n. pl. ale·wives (-wīvz') A fish (Alosa pseudoharengus) closely related to the herrings and native to North American Atlantic waters and some inland lakes. [Probably alteration (influenced by alewife2) of obsolete allowes, a type of shad, from French alose, shad, from Old French, from Late Latin alausa.] |
| ale·wife 2 (āl'wīf') n. pl. ale·wives (-wīvz') A woman who keeps an alehouse. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Alewife
Ale"wife`\, n.; pl. Alewives. A woman who keeps an alehouse. --Gay.Alewife
Ale"wife`\, n.; pl. Alewives. [This word is properly aloof, the Indian name of a fish. See Winthrop on the culture of maize in America, "Phil Trans." No. 142, p. 1065, and Baddam's "Memoirs," vol. ii. p. 131.] (Zo["o]l.) A North American fish (Clupea vernalis) of the Herring family. It is called also ellwife, ellwhop, branch herring. The name is locally applied to other related species.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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