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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.

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

alec ² American

[al-ik] / ˈæl ɪk /

noun

Australian.

a simpleton or fool.

Alec ³ American

[al-ik] / ˈæl ɪk /

Or Aleck

noun

a first name, form of Alexander.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.