Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural ale·wives.
- a North American fish, Alosa pseudoharengus, resembling a small shad.
noun, plural ale·wives.
- a woman who owns or operates an alehouse.
noun plural -wives
- a North American fish, Pomolobus pseudoharengus, similar to the herring Clupea harengus: family Clupeidae (herrings)
herring-like fish of North America, 1630s, named from the word for female tavern keepers (late 14c.), from ale + wife; the fish so called in reference to its large abdomen.