alewife

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1 1.1.1 Noun 1.2 Etymology 2 1.2.1 Noun 1.2.1.1 Synonyms

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology 1

ale + wife

[edit] Noun

alewife (plural alewives)

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

[edit] Etymology 2

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.

[edit] Noun

Wikipedia

alewife (plural alewives)

1. A North American fish (Clupea vernalis) of the herring family. The name is locally applied to other related species.

[edit] Synonyms

• branch herring
• ellwhop
• ellwife