# ale

Pronunciation: say "AYL" /eɪl/

## Noun

1. A beer brewed with top-fermenting yeast at relatively warm temperatures, as distinct from lager.
   - Simple: A kind of beer made with a yeast that works at warmer temperatures than the yeast used for lager.
   - _The brewery is known for its hand-pulled ale served straight from the cask._
   - _This pale ale has a fruity taste that you rarely find in a crisp lager._

## Noun

2. In older usage, a beer brewed without hops. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A kind of beer made without using any hops.
   - _Before hops reached England, brewers flavored their ale with herbs instead._
   - _The monastery's ale contained no hops, only malt and spices._
3. A festival held in the English countryside, named for the ale drunk at it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A country festival in old England where people met to drink and celebrate together.

## Origin

From Middle English "ale," from Old English "ealu," from Proto-Germanic "*alu" (compare Dutch "aal" and Swedish "öl"), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "beer" or possibly "bitter," compare Lithuanian "alùs."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ale (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).