Anchovy definition
Other Word Forms
Noun
Origin of anchovy
- Spanish anchova possibly from Vulgar Latin apiuva ultimately from Greek aphuē
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Spanish anchova, from Genoese Ligurian anchua anchova or perhaps from a similar Corsican term. The term's ultimate origin is unclear; some suggest it may have derived from an unattested Vulgar Latin term *apiuva, from Latin aphye, from Ancient Greek ἀφύη (aphuē); others suggest it comes from Basque antxu, anchu (“dried fish”), from anchuva (“dry”), if that Basque term is not itself derived from Latin via some intermediary.
From Wiktionary