EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION. XXXVii 
Winninish, and the uncouth and unpronounceable Ouananiche is simply due 
to the lack of the Win French. There is no good reason why English 
names should be disguised by the limitations of the French alphabet, even 
if official sanction has been given. 
Most of the names just mentioned were derived from other countries, 
where they had been in use for time immemorial for other fishes. But the 
invaders of America found in her waters many species which they failed to 
recognize and could supply to such no names from their limited vocabulary. 
For the most prominent of them, they invented new names, but used very 
simple and obvious devices. Some species were designated, on account of 
color, Black-fish, White-fish, Blue-fish, Green-fish, Amber-fish, Gold-fish, 
Silver-fish, etc. ; others were found in stations which suggested names, such 
as Rock-fish and Mud-fish. Many received titles for no obvious reason, or 
for some fancy, and among them are King-fish, Queen-fish, Angel-fish, 
Lady-fish, Lawyer, Devil-fish, Minister, and Scamp. (The juxtaposition 
here means nothing !) 
Our forefathers also brought with them fish-names which have become 
almost obsolete in England, but which have entered on a new life in the 
new land. One such is Alewife, so familiar in connection with the enor- 
mous schools of the Clupeid so-called which enter the rivers of New England. 
So entirely has the name been submerged in England, so prominent has it 
become in the United States, that it has been supposed by many lexi- 
cographers to be of American origin. For example, in that monument of 
industry and erudition, “ A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles 
[etc.]. Edited by James A. H. Murray [LL.D., etc.], with the assistance of 
many scholars and men of science,” the etymology of Alewife is given in 
the following terms: “Corrupted from 17th c. aloofe, taken by some to be an 
American-Indian name ; according to others a literal error for French alose, 
ashad. Further investigation is required.” (It is defined “An American 
fish [ Clupea serrata] closely allied to the Herring”) Further investigation 
has demonstrated that the supposed etymology is based on errors of several 
kinds. Too much space would be required to give the detailed history, and 
those especially interested may find the record (by the present editor) in 
that receptacle of notes curious and philological entitled “Notes and 
Queries” (gth s., VIIL, 451-452). In brief, the status is this : — 
First, Alewife is not only an old English name, but still survives in south- 
western England, as attest the works of Couch and Day on English fishes. 
Second, Alose, as such or with literal modifications, has existed as an English 
