ale

¹

[ eyl ]

noun

1. a malt beverage, darker, heavier, and more bitter than beer, containing about 6 percent alcohol by volume.
2. British. beer ( def 1 ).

A.L.E.

²

abbreviation for

, Insurance.

1. additional living expense.

ale

/ eɪl /

noun

1. a beer fermented in an open vessel using yeasts that rise to the top of the brew Compare beer lager 1
2. (formerly) an alcoholic drink made by fermenting a cereal, esp barley, but differing from beer by being unflavoured by hops
3. another word for beer

Word History and Origins

Origin of ale¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English (e)alu (genitive ealoth ); cognate with Old Saxon alo-, Middle Dutch ale, ael, Old Norse ǫl; Lithuanian alùs, Old Church Slavonic olŭ; Finnish, Estonian olut

Word History and Origins

Origin of ale¹

Old English alu, ealu; related to Old Norse öl, Old Saxon alofat

Example Sentences

In Britain the craft beer movement began much earlier, under the slogan “Real Ale.”

From The Daily Beast

Lynchburg is a six-month-old German sausage and ale house in the heart of Panama's San Francisco neighborhood.

From The Daily Beast

De Mena offers me a glass of Sir Francis Drake, Casa Bruja's red ale.

From The Daily Beast

More than half of the patrons at the bar are holding glasses full of Casa Bruja's malted barley red ale.

From The Daily Beast

Casa Bruja's Fula Farmacia Blond Ale sells for $1.95 at Bodega Mi Amiga.

From The Daily Beast

In 1603 it was ordered that one quart of best ale, or two of small, should be sold for one penny.

From Project Gutenberg

A traveler coming, wet and cold, into a country ale-house on the coast of Kent, found the fire completely blockaded.

From Project Gutenberg

If it would rain good barrels of ale, now, sorrow would not so much mind being out in the storm.

From Project Gutenberg

That night Mr. Parsons visited a public house, paid for a glass of ale, and consulted the directory.

From Project Gutenberg

The neighbours tell one another good stories in church time, and inquire during the sermon where they can get the best ale.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brew
• malt
• suds