A pole or stake historically placed outside an alehouse to signal that ale was being sold, serving as a medieval advertisement for the establishment.
Ale + stake (from Old English staca, meaning 'a pointed post'). Used from Middle English onwards as a visible marker, similar to modern business signs.
Before neon signs or written language was common, alehouses hung poles outside their doors—the alestake was literal advertising for a pre-literate society, and you can still see the concept in modern shop poles and signs.
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