alewife
a shad species called alewife
Meaning
Noun
- A woman who keeps an alehouse.
- A migrating North American fish, Alosa pseudoharengus (species).
- Any of several species similar in appearance.
Related
Similar words
Origin
- ale + wife.
- Unknown. Possibly from aloof, the Narragansett 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.
- Possibly from allowes, from French alose ("shad"), from Old French, from Late Latin alausa, influenced by Etymology 1 due to large belly of the fish.
Modern English dictionary
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