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an·cho·vy

(ănchō′vē, ăn-chōvē)

n. pl. anchovy or an·cho·vies

Any of various small silvery marine fishes of the family Engraulidae, especially Engraulis encrasicolus of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, often cured and preserved in oil.

[Spanish anchoa, anchova, from Vulgar Latin *apiuva, from Greek aphuē, small fry : perhaps a-, not; see A-¹ + phuein, to become, grow; see bheuə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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