Meaning

noun tiny fishes usually canned or salted; used for hors d'oeuvres or as seasoning in sauces

noun small herring-like plankton-eating fishes often canned whole or as paste; abundant in tropical waters worldwide

originFrom 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0