Where does “alehouse” come from?

Alehouse comes from Middle English alehuse, from Old English ealuhūs, a compound of ealu (ale) and hūs (house).

alehouse (English): A business, such as an inn or tavern, where ale...

Definitions

  1. A business, such as an inn or tavern, where ale...

Ancestry of “alehouse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishalehousalehouse, tavern
2Middle Englishaleale unhopped alcoholic beverage made from malted grain
3Old Englishealubeer, ale
4Proto-West Germanicāluawl
5Proto-Germanicēlōawl
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ólosawl
7Proto-Indo-Europeanēl-awl, prong
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ēl- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ólos →Every word from Proto-Germanic ēlō →