alec

¹ American  

[al-ik] / ˈæl ɪk /

noun

Obsolete.

1. a herring.

2. a sauce or relish made from small herring or anchovies.

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alec ² American  

[al-ik] / ˈæl ɪk /

noun

Australian.

1. a simpleton or fool.

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Alec ³ American  

[al-ik] / ˈæl ɪk /

Or Aleck

noun

1. a first name, form of Alexander.

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Etymology

Origin of alec¹

1510–20; < Latin ( h ) al ( l ) ec fish sauce

Origin of alec²

1920–25; smart aleck ( def. ); sense shift perhaps originally from ironic usage

Example Sentences

Much later, on “30 Rock,” Reiner poked at his left-leaning politics by playing a fictionalized version of himself as a congressman easily impressed by corporate platitudes that Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy sprays during a committee hearing.

From Salon

There needs to be someone with a more old-school mindset to challenge ideas and keep an eye on the change, with Alec Stewart one very obvious candidate after all the fine work he has done at Surrey.

From BBC

Murillo is working with Alec Gerry, a UCR veterinary entomology professor and CE Specialist, to deploy traps across California.

From Science Daily

Joel’s health news comes one year after he purchased a $10.7 million home in the Hamptons, N.Y., which is just down the road from Alec and Hilaria Baldwin’s estate.

From MarketWatch

In David Lean’s classic 1957 movie, “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” Alec Guinness plays the punctiliously correct English Col.

From The Wall Street Journal