alien

English

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Alien

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• alyaunte (15th–16th centuries)

Etymology

From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.li.ən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

alien (plural aliens)

1. A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.
   • 2023 March 21 (last accessed), NOBANIS: European Network on Invasive Species‎:

     An animated film intended to inform travellers about the dangers that alien species present to Arctic ecosystems is being released today. The message is that it is important to ensure that nobody accidentally brings alien species with them as stowaways in their clothing, baggage or equipment.

2. (sometimes derogatory) A person in a country not their own.
   • 1773, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the laws of England: in four books, 5th edition, volume 1, page 372:

     An alien born may purchase lands, or other estates: but not for his own use; for the king is thereupon entitled to them.

   • 1831, John Marshall, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, U.S. Government:

     The counsel have shown conclusively that they are not a state of the union, and have insisted that individually they are aliens, not owing allegiance to the United States.

   • 1987, “Englishman in New York”, in …Nothing Like the Sun, performed by Sting:

     I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
     I'm an Englishman in New York

   • 2004, Wesley Campbell, Stephen Court, Be a hero: the battle for mercy and social justice, Destiny Image Publishers, page 74:

     Aliens are aliens because of persecution or war or hardship or famine.

3. Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin.
   • 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hello from the Reds:

     You might not have much use for me. You spend too much time with the damn aliens, pretending your time in the gangs back on Earth never happened. I know you weren't happy when I found you at the Citadel a couple years back.
     But I'm glad you're on this. I hope you find whoever took my people on Freedom's Progress and kick their scaly asses. I'm glad it's a human finding these bastards.

4. One excluded from certain privileges; one alienated or estranged.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Ephesians 2:12, column 2:

     […] aliens from the common wealth of Iſrael […]

   • 1928, Philip Mauro, “The Character of the Sermon on the Mount”, in The Gospel of the Kingdom, with an Examination of Modern Dispensationalism‎ (Religion), Boston: Hamilton Brothers, →OCLC, page 182:

     The One Who, in this marvellous utterance, brings those who were by nature aliens and enemies of God into intimate and holy relations with God the Father, is the very One Who had to come to offer that Sacrifice without which such relationship would have been forever an impossibility; without which there would have been nothing for the best of men but death and judgment and the lake of fire.

Synonyms

• (person, etc. from outside): fremd (rare, chiefly dialectal), guest, stranger
• (foreigner): outlander; see also Thesaurus:foreigner
• (life form of extraterrestrial origin): See also Thesaurus:extraterrestrial

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

alien (comparative more alien, superlative most alien)

1. Not belonging to the same country, land, or government, or to the citizens or subjects thereof; foreign.

   alien subjects, enemies, property, or shores

2. Very unfamiliar, strange, or removed.

   principles alien to our religion

   • 1850, William Wordsworth, The Prelude:

     An alien sound of melancholy.

3. Pertaining to extraterrestrial life; typical of an extraterrestrial creature.
   • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 8:

     It had a peculiar alien tallness, a peculiar alien flattened head, peculiar slitty little alien eyes[.]

Synonyms

• allotrious

Translations

Verb

alien (third-person singular simple present aliens, present participle aliening, simple past and past participle aliened)

2. (transitive) To estrange; to alienate.
3. (law) To transfer the ownership of something.

Alternative forms

• aliene

Anagrams

• A-line, Aline, Elain, Elian, Elina, Nelia, aline, anile, elain, laine, liane, linea

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Verb

alien

1. third-person plural present indicative of aliar

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English alien (“stranger, foreigner”), from Middle English alien, from Old French alien, from Latin aliēnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeː.li.ən/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ali‧en

Noun

alien m (plural aliens)

1. An alien, an extraterrestrial.

   Synonyms: buitenaards wezen, ruimtewezen

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English alien (“stranger, foreigner”), from Middle English alien, from Old French alien, from Latin aliēnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ljɛn/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

alien m (plural aliens)

1. alien (extraterrestrial)

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus. Some forms (chiefly nominal) show assimilation to the suffix -ant.

Alternative forms

• alyon, alean, alyen, aliand, aliaund, aliant, alyant

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːliˈɛːn/, /ˈaːliɛn/, /ˈaːliən/
• (with assimilation) IPA^(key): /ˈaːliant/, /ˈaːliau̯nt/

Noun

alien (plural aliens)

1. An outsider or foreign person, especially if resident in one's nation.
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎, published c. 1410, Joon 10:5, page 49v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     But þei ſuen not an alien · but fleen from hym .· foꝛ þei han not knowen þe vois of aliens

     But they don't follow a stranger; they'll flee from them instead, because they don't recognise strangers' voices.

2. One who is alien in some other way (e.g. religion, family)
3. (rare) An unlawful occupier or possessor of land.

Related terms

Descendants

• English: alien
• Scots: alien, awlien

References

• “āliē̆n, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-25.

Adjective

alien (plural and weak singular aliene)

1. Outside, alien, foreign; from or relating to another nation.
2. Religiously outside; heretical, erring; of false religion or morals.
3. Distant, isolated, secure, away (from something)
4. (rare) Under the authority of other nation's religious institutions.
5. (rare) Not relating to or of oneself; not natural (to one's body).
6. (rare) Bizarre, weird, exotic.

Descendants

• English: alien
• Scots: alien, awlien

References

• “āliēn, ālien, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-25.

Etymology 2

From Old French alier.

Verb

alien

1. Alternative form of allien

Old French

Etymology

From Latin aliēnus.

Adjective

alien m (oblique and nominative feminine singular aliene)

1. alien; foreign; non-native
   • 11th century, La Vie de Saint Alexis, BNF manuscript 19525

     alienes terres

     foreign lands

Declension

Noun

alien oblique singular, m (oblique plural aliens, nominative singular aliens, nominative plural alien)

1. alien (a non-native)

Declension

Descendants

• → Middle English: alien, alyon, alean, alyen, aliand, aliaund, aliant, alyant
  • English: alien
  • Scots: alien, awlien

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• álien

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English alien (“extraterrestrial life form”). Doublet of alheio.

Pronunciation

Noun

alien m (plural aliens)

1. alien; extraterrestrial life form

   Synonyms: alienígena, ET, extraterrestre