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Webster 1913 Edition
Anchovy
An-cho′vy
(ăn-chō′vy̆)
, Noun.
[Sp.
anchoa
, anchova
, or Pg. anchova
, prob. of Iberian origin, and lit. a dried or pickled fish, fr. Bisc. antzua
dry: cf. D. anchovis
, F. anchois
.] (Zool.)
A small fish, about three inches in length, of the Herring family (
Engraulis encrasicholus
), caught in vast numbers in the Mediterranean, and pickled for exportation. The name is also applied to several allied species.