/ayl/ , n.
1. a malt beverage, darker, heavier, and more bitter than beer, containing about 6 percent alcohol by volume.
2. Brit. beer.
[ bef. 950; ME; OE ( e ) alu (gen. ealoth ); c. OS alo-, MD ale, ael, ON ol; Lith alùs, OCS olu; Finnish, Estonian olut; areal word of North Europe ]