small, common fish of the Mediterranean and other seas, esteemed for its rich, peculiar flavor, 1590s, from Portuguese anchova, from Genoese or Corsican dialect, perhaps ultimately from either Latin apua "small fish" (from Greek aphye "small fry") [Gamillscheg, Diez], or from Basque anchu "dried fish," from anchuva "dry" [Klein, citing Mahn].
