alewife

/ˌeɪlˈwaɪf/

Other forms: alewives

An alewife is a small fish, a type of herring. Alewives are found in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily in the Northeast of the US and Canada.

In Maine, the alewife is used for bait in lobster traps, and it's also eaten by people, often smoked. There are different names for alewives in different locations, including gaspereau in Atlantic Canada and kiack in Nova Scotia. In the 14th century, an alewife was a tavern or bar keeper's wife: the fish got the name in the 1600s, as a kind of bad joke, from the shape of its rounded abdomen.

Definitions of alewife

1. noun

   shad-like food fish that runs rivers to spawn; often salted or smoked; sometimes placed in genus Pomolobus
   synonyms: Alosa pseudoharengus, Pomolobus pseudoharengus

   type of:

   clupeid, clupeid fish

   any of numerous soft-finned schooling food fishes of shallow waters of northern seas
2. noun

   flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast or in coastal streams
   type of:

   fish

   the flesh of fish used as food