alewife
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of alewife1
1625–35, earlier allowes, perhaps influenced by alewife 2, probably < French alose shad < Gallo-Latin alausa
Origin of alewife2
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at ale, wife
Explanation
An alewife is a small fish, a type of herring. Alewives are found in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily in the Northeast of the US and Canada. In Maine, the alewife is used for bait in lobster traps, and it's also eaten by people, often smoked. There are different names for alewives in different locations, including gaspereau in Atlantic Canada and kiack in Nova Scotia. In the 14th century, an alewife was a tavern or bar keeper's wife: the fish got the name in the 1600s, as a kind of bad joke, from the shape of its rounded abdomen.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That summer, an alewife die-off had coated the beach in putrid surf.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2022
The alewife has several advantages over other fish facing threats: It’s adaptable, willing to swim up another stream when a beaver has blocked its way.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2016
As some of you correctly noted, this man is holding an alewife, also known as a herring.
From New York Times ● Apr. 13, 2011
It contains recipes for shark steak, skate chowder, the plentiful but oily menhaden, the humble but edible alewife, the delicious ocean pout, of which Massachusetts fisheries have recently sold huge quantities.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had had no breakfast and for supper the night before only one salt alewife and a mug of milk.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
They learned a similar situation had occurred in the Great Lakes in the 1960s, when lake trout had exhibited similar behaviors after gorging on alewives, another fish chock-full of thiaminase.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2023
"Those dams are preventing other native species like American shad, alewives, blueback herring and American eel from accessing large amounts of historic habitat," says Burrows.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2021
Little herrings called alewives swim through the brownish water.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 13, 2019
“And the alewives are so key to this. They are the keystone species that helps drive the whole river ecosystem.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2016
But the most important fish harvest came in late spring, when the herring-like alewives swarmed the fast, shallow stream that cut through the village.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
