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• alec
  alec

  noun

  a herring.
• Alec
  Alec

  noun

  a first name, form of Alexander.

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; cf. smart aleck ( def. ); sense shift perhaps originally from ironic usage

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alec Alec

Sometimes Alex is a smart alec: the chapter sending up his academy school and peer group reads like the revenge of the nerd.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 15, 2013

Obviously a smart alec statement, insinuating that Mooney talked for publicity's sake alone, instead of for a cause in which he sincerely believes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hootsey could not be sure if Nibbles was being a "smart alec" or was just paying him a complement.

From The Forest Monster of Oz by Evans, Bob

Seneca reproaches them with this refinement of cruelty—“Oculis quoque gulosi sunt;” and the most renowned of Apicius’s culinary discoveries was the alec, a compound of their livers.

From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)

Nonetheless Yale University Press has given the British historian Alec Ryrie a wide berth to write “The World’s Reformation,” a highly readable, sweeping and intrigue-filled story of Protestant missions among non-Europeans between 1560 and 1800.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Second Lt, Alec Goschen, was the Ensign, the soldier who carried the flag of the Grenadier Guards on Horseguards.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

SNL remains a consistent thorn in his side, especially when Alec Baldwin is playing him.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

Meanwhile, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin’s Amagansett compound has been languishing on the market since 2022, when they listed it for $29 million.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

Alec held up a hand as if he thought Mark would go charging after the guy.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner