Homophones
Minimal pairs
noun
Freq #9144
Meanings
-
1
noun
a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast
in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
Thesaurus
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂elut-der. Proto-Germanic *alu Proto-West Germanic *alu Old English ealu Middle English ale English ale From Middle English ale, from Old English ealu, ealo, from Proto-West Germanic *alu, from Proto-Germanic *alu (compare Dutch aal, Swedish öl), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elut- (“beer”), or *h₂elu- (“bitter”). Compare Russian ол (ol), Lithuanian alùs, Armenian օղի (ōġi); compare also Latin alum (“comfrey”), alūta (“tawed leather”), Ancient Greek ἀλύδοιμος (alúdoimos, “bitter”).