ale stake

A form of alestake — A stake or pole serving as a sign at an alehouse or inn, often with a garland or "bush" attached.

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Meanings

nounale stake (plural ale stakes)

plural ale stakes

  1. alternativeAlternative form of alestake.

    The old English proverb, “Good wine needs no brush,” grew out of this custom of hanging a bush to the ale stake.

    1900 March 17, Janette Hill Knox, “Some Anglo-Saxon Drinking Customs”, in The Epworth Herald, volume 10, number 42, page 3
    2 more examples

    It was the custom for brewsters and brewers to display an ale stake in front of their premises when there was ale for sale.

    1994, Peter Haydon, The English pub: a history, page 23

    When a new brew was ready they would place an 'ale stake', a long pole covered in evergreens, through a window to attract customers.

    1995, Roger Protz, The Ale Trail, page 20
Cite this entry
APA

ale stake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ale%20stake

MLA

“ale stake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ale%20stake. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ale stake,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ale%20stake.

Source: ale stake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.