Browsing named entities in Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 14.. You can also browse the collection for 1678 AD or search for 1678 AD in all documents.

Your search returned 1 result in 1 document section:

Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 14., The ancient name Menotomy and the river of that name. (search)
e called Alewife brook, and doubtless because of the abundance of alewives taken from its waters. Webster says, the alewife is a North American fish of the herring family, and that the name is properly aloof the Indian name of a fish. It is also called ellwif, ellwhop and branch herring. He also says that alewife is a woman who keeps an alehouse. The Century Dictionary says, A particular use of alewife, probably in allusion to their corpulent appearance; the form aloof, as recorded in 1678, is said to be the Indian name of the fish, but is probably an error for alewife. But, as it is an American fish, the Indians doubtless had a name for it, and aloof is correct, the word alewife being the nearest in the language of the settlers to the Indian name aloof, and one with which they were more familiar, came to be used as the name of this fish. Grandpa Keeler says in Cape Cod Folks, They're very good, teacher, ale-whops are—very good—though they're bony as the—,they're '<