ale Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume

WordNet

Ale noun
Etymology
AS. ealu, akin to Icel., Sw., and Dan. öl, Lith. alus a kind of beer, OSlav. ol beer. Cf. Ir. ol drink, drinking.
Definitions
  1. An intoxicating liquor made from an infusion of malt by fermentation and the addition of a bitter, usually hops. ✍ The word ale, in England and the United States, usually designates a heavier kind of fermented liquor, and the word beer a lighter kind. The word beer is also in common use as the generic name for all malt liquors.
  2. A festival in English country places, so called from the liquor drunk. "At wakes and ales." B. Jonson."On ember eves and holy ales." Shak.

Webster 1913