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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

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)

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

She starred in films alongside Alec Guinness, Fred Astaire and Peter O'Toole and appeared in musicals in New York and London.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 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

These include a Beverly Hills venture firm linked to the Kadisha family, an early Qualcomm investor, and a Chicago-area investment firm of Alec Litowitz, the founder of hedge fund Magnetar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● 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

Milo tried as hard as he could, and, as he did, his feet floated slowly off the ground until he was standing in the air next to Alec Bings.

From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster