Alestake

Ale´stake


n.1.A stake or pole projecting from, or set up before, an alehouse, as a sign; an alepole. At the end was commonly suspended a garland, a bunch of leaves, or a "bush."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.
References in periodicals archive ?
For example, a branch of greenery tied to a pole and placed outside a building would identify it as a tavern with the sign itself being referred to as an alestake or a 'bush'; hence perhaps the oldest known pub name; 'The Bush'.
Not singing, just sprawling; Local historian and author CHARLIE STEEL continues his fascinating fortnightly series on the history of British pubs
These "alestakes' sometimes stuck out so far that passing riders struck their heads against them.
The strange sex life of the holly and other echoes of pagan days
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