ale

¹

[ eyl ]

noun

1. a malt beverage, darker, heavier, and more bitter than beer, containing about 6 percent alcohol by volume.
2. British. beer ( def 1 ).

A.L.E.

²

abbreviation for

, Insurance.

1. additional living expense.

ale

/ eɪl /

noun

1. a beer fermented in an open vessel using yeasts that rise to the top of the brew Compare beer lager 1
2. (formerly) an alcoholic drink made by fermenting a cereal, esp barley, but differing from beer by being unflavoured by hops
3. another word for beer

Word History and Origins

Origin of ale¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English (e)alu (genitive ealoth ); cognate with Old Saxon alo-, Middle Dutch ale, ael, Old Norse ǫl; Lithuanian alùs, Old Church Slavonic olŭ; Finnish, Estonian olut

Word History and Origins

Origin of ale¹

Old English alu, ealu; related to Old Norse öl, Old Saxon alofat

Related Words

• brew
• malt
• suds