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alewife definition

ale·wife (ālwīf′)

noun pl. alewives -·wives′ (-wīvz′)

  1. a woman who keeps an alehouse
  2. Etymology: < ?

    a NW Atlantic clupeid fish (Alosa pseudoharengus) that swims up rivers to spawn in the spring: used for food and in fertilizers

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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