alewife
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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.
[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.]
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.
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| Noun | 1. |  alewife - flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast or in coastal streamsAlosa 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 Pomolobusclupeid, 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 |
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