Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

anchovy

/ˈænˌt͡ʃoʊ.vi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.58 in modern English

Syllables: an-chovy
IPA: /ˈænˌt͡ʃoʊ.vi/

18

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any small saltwater fish of the Engraulidae family, consisting of 160 species in sixteen genera, those of the genus Engraulis being widely sold as food.

Example Sentences

"[T]he cooks were laying a refection before him of sack and anchovies and garlic sausage and gammons of bacon and - this was the important item - a great pudding dish out of which rose the noble dome of a crisp brown pie-crust."

Etymology

From Spanish anchoa, from Genoese Ligurian anciôa or related Corsican anchjuva, anciua. The term's ultimate origin is unclear; some suggest it may have derived from an unattested Vulgar Latin term *apiuva, from Latin aphyē, apua, from Ancient Greek ἀφύη (aphúē) (which may be formed like Sanskrit अभ्व (ábhva-, “monster”)); others suggest it comes from Basque antxu, anchu (“dried fish”), from anchuva (“dry”), if that Basque term is not itself derived from Latin via some intermediary. None of these hypotheses is satisfactory because of the phonetic irregularities.

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: anchoa, anciôa, anchjuva, -, aphyē, ἀφύη

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈænˌt͡ʃoʊ.vi/
British English: /ˈæn.t͡ʃə.vi/

Inflected Forms

anchovies (plural)

Derived Forms

anchovette anchovied anchovylike

Phrases

anchovy paste anchovy pear anchovy salad anchovy toast Californian anchovy European anchovy Gray's grenadier anchovy Mediterranean anchovy

Frequently Paired Words

sardine

Rhymes With

novi tovey novy hovey bovey fullilove updegrove covey

Questions

How do you pronounce anchovy?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈænˌt͡ʃoʊ.vi/.
What does anchovy mean?: Any small saltwater fish of the Engraulidae family, consisting of 160 species in sixteen genera, those of the genus Engraulis being widely sold as food.
Where does anchovy come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce anchovy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “anchovy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈænˌt͡ʃoʊ.vi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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