alewife

3 definitions found

alewife - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Alewife \Ale"wife`\, n.; pl. Alewives. [This word is properly
     aloof, the Indian name of a fish. See Winthrop on the culture
     of maize in America, "Phil Trans." No. 142, p. 1065, and
     Baddam's "Memoirs," vol. ii. p. 131.] (Zool.)
     A North American fish (Clupea vernalis) of the Herring
     family. It is called also ellwife, ellwhop, branch herring
     . The name is locally applied to other related
     species.
     [1913 Webster]

  Alewife \Ale"wife`\, n.; pl. Alewives.
     A woman who keeps an alehouse. --Gay.
     [1913 Webster]

alewife - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  alewife
      n 1: flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast
           or in coastal streams
      2: shad-like food fish that runs rivers to spawn; often salted
         or smoked; sometimes placed in genus Pomolobus [syn:
         alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, Pomolobus   pseudoharengus
         ]