alewife

English

Etymology 1

ale + wife

Noun

alewife (plural alewives)

1. (archaic) A woman who keeps an alehouse.

Etymology 2

a shad species called alewife

Unknown. Possibly from 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.

Possibly from allowes (“a type of shad”), from French alose (“shad”), from Old French, from Late Latin alausa, influenced by Etymology 1 due to large belly of the fish.

Noun

alewife (plural alewives)

1. A North American fish, Clupea vernalis, of the herring family.
2. A migrating North American fish, Alosa pseudoharengus.
3. Any of several species similar in appearance.

Synonyms

• (Clupea vernalis): branch herring, ellwhop, ellwife

Derived terms

• Alewife Brook

See also

• Alewife on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Clupea on Wikispecies. Wikispecies: Clupea
• Alosa pseudoharengus on Wikispecies. Wikispecies: Alosa pseudoharengus
• Category:Alosa pseudoharengus on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons: Category:Alosa pseudoharengus