alewife

ale·wife ¹

 (āl′wīf′)

n. pl. ale·wives (-wīvz′)

A fish (Alosa pseudoharengus) of North American Atlantic waters and some inland lakes, which swims up rivers to spawn.

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[Originally North American English, probably from alteration (influenced by alewife, because the fish's relatively big belly distinguishes it from the herring) of obsolete English aloes, allowes, a type of shad (Alosa alosa), from French alose, shad, from Old French, from Late Latin alausa, of Gaulish origin.]

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ale·wife ²

 (āl′wīf′)

n. pl. ale·wives (-wīvz′)

A woman who keeps an alehouse.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

alewife

(ˈeɪlˌwaɪf)

n, pl -wives

(Animals) a North American fish, Pomolobus pseudoharengus, similar to the herring Clupea harengus: family Clupeidae (herrings)

[C19: perhaps an alteration (through influence of alewife, that is, a large rotund woman, alluding to the fish's shape) of French alose shad]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ale•wife¹

(ˈeɪlˌwaɪf)

n., pl. -wives.

a North American fish, Alosa pseudoharengus, similar to a shad.

[1625–35, Amer.; earlier allowes, perhaps influenced by alewife², probably < French alose shad < Gallo-Latin alausa]

ale•wife²

(ˈeɪlˌwaɪf)

n., pl. -wives.

a woman who owns or operates an alehouse.

[1350–1400]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	alewife - flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast or in coastal streams Alosa pseudoharengus, Pomolobus pseudoharengus, alewife - shad-like food fish that runs rivers to spawn; often salted or smoked; sometimes placed in genus Pomolobus fish - the flesh of fish used as food; "in Japan most fish is eaten raw"; "after the scare about foot-and-mouth disease a lot of people started eating fish instead of meat"; "they have a chef who specializes in fish"
	2.	alewife - shad-like food fish that runs rivers to spawn; often salted or smoked; sometimes placed in genus Pomolobus Alosa pseudoharengus, Pomolobus pseudoharengus clupeid, clupeid fish - any of numerous soft-finned schooling food fishes of shallow waters of northern seas Alosa, genus Alosa - shad alewife - flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast or in coastal streams

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

alose