ale

Etymology

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”).

noun

  1. (dated) A beer made without hops.
  2. A beer produced by so-called warm fermentation and not pressurized.
  3. A festival in English country places, so called from the liquor drunk.

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