a sauce or relish made from small herring or anchovies
Word origin
[1510–20; ‹ L (h)al(l)ec fish sauce]This word is first recorded in the period 1510–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: recess, regression, toleration, torpedo, trimming
alec in American English2
(ˈælɪk)
noun
Austral
a simpleton or fool
Word origin
[1920–25; cf. smart-aleck; sense shift perh. orig. from ironic usage]This word is first recorded in the period 1920–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: audio, follow-up, fundamentalism, montage, self-service
Alec in American English
(ˈælɪk)
noun
a male given name, form of Alexander
Also: Aleck
More idioms containing
alec
a smart alec
Examples of 'alec' in a sentence
alec
I think we've had enough of smart-alec cop shows over the years.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Where does the expression smart alec come from?
The Sun (2009)
How dare this smart-alec belittle one of our greats.