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alewife

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈeɪlˌwaɪf/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(āl′wīf′)

Inflections of 'alewife' (n): npl: alewives

ale•wife¹ (āl′wīf′),USA pronunciation n., pl. -wives.

Fisha North American fish, Alosa pseudoharengus, resembling a small shad.

Gallo-Latin alausa
French alose shad
earlier allowes, perh. influenced by alewife², probably 1625–35, American.

ale•wife² (āl′wīf′),USA pronunciation n., pl. -wives.

a woman who owns or operates an alehouse.

1350–1400; Middle English; see ale, wife

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

alewife /ˈeɪlˌwaɪf/ n ( pl -wives)

a North American fish, Pomolobus pseudoharengus, similar to the herring Clupea harengus: family Clupeidae (herrings)

Etymology: 19th Century: perhaps an alteration (through influence of alewife, that is, a large rotund woman, alluding to the fish's shape) of French alose shad

'alewife' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

gaspereau - grayback - oldwife

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⇱ alewife - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

alewife