The Collaborative International Dictionary
branch herring
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.] (Zo["o]l.) 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.