anchovy Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun tiny fishes usually canned or salted; used for hors d'oeuvres or as seasoning in sauces
noun small herring-like plankton-eating fishes often canned whole or as paste; abundant in tropical waters worldwide

Sp. anchoa, anchova, or Pg. anchova, prob. of Iberian origin, and lit. a dried or pickled fish, fr. Bisc. antzua dry: cf. D. anchovis, F. anchois.

(Zoöl.) A small fish, about three inches in length, of the Herring family (Engraulis encrasicholus), caught in vast numbers in the Mediterranean, and pickled for exportation. The name is also applied to several allied species.