alien
English
Alternative forms
- alyaunte (15th–16th centuries)
Etymology
Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ALIENCategory:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂el- (other)#ALIENFrom Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#ALIENCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#ALIEN alien, a borrowing from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#ALIEN alien, aliene, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#ALIEN aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#ALIEN alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ALIEN *h₂élyos. Related to English else.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.li.ən/Category:English 3-syllable words#ALIENCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- enPR: ā′-lē-ən, āl′-yən[1]
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪliənCategory:Rhymes:English/eɪliən#ALIENCategory:Rhymes:English/eɪliən/3 syllables#ALIEN
Noun
alien (plural aliens)Category:English lemmas#ALIENCategory:English nouns#ALIENCategory:English countable nouns#ALIENCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- 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.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- A citizen or national of another sovereign state.
- 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.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- 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.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- 1987, “Englishman in New York”, in …Nothing Like the Sun, performed by Sting:
- I'm an alien, I'm a legal alienCategory:English terms with quotations#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.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?)Category:Requests for verification in English entries#ALIEN (sometimes derogatoryCategory:English derogatory terms#ALIEN) A mischievous or suspicious foreigner.
- 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.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
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.
- 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 […]Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- 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.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
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
Descendants
- → Japanese: エイリアン
Translations
Adjective
alien (comparative more alien, superlative most alien)Category:English lemmas#ALIENCategory:English adjectives#ALIENCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- Not belonging to the same country, land, or government, or to the citizens or subjects thereof; foreign.
- Synonyms: allotrious, strange; see also Thesaurus:foreign
- alien subjects, enemies, property, or shoresCategory:English terms with collocations#ALIEN
- Very unfamiliar, strange, or removed.
- Synonyms: monstrous, weird; see also Thesaurus:strange
- principles alien to our religionCategory:English terms with collocations#ALIEN
- 1850, William Wordsworth, The Prelude:
- An alien sound of melancholy.Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- Pertaining to extraterrestrial life; typical of an extraterrestrial creature.
- Synonyms: extraterrestrial, nonterrestrial, xenomorphic
- 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[.]Category:English terms with quotations#ALIEN
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
alien (third-person singular simple present aliens, present participle aliening, simple past and past participle aliened)Category:English lemmas#ALIENCategory:English verbs#ALIENCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#ALIEN) To estrange; to alienate.
- (lawCategory:en:Law#ALIEN) To transfer the ownership of something.
Alternative forms
References
- ↑ “alien”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams
Category:en:Astrobiology#ALIENCategory:en:Celestial inhabitants#ALIENCategory:en:People#ALIENCategory:en:Science fiction#ALIENCategory:en:Stock characters#ALIENCategory:en:Ufology#ALIENCatalan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [əˈli.ən]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [aˈli.en]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
Verb
alienCategory:Catalan non-lemma forms#ALIENCategory:Catalan verb forms#ALIENCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from English#ALIENCategory:Dutch terms derived from English#ALIEN alien (“stranger, foreigner”), from Middle EnglishCategory:Dutch terms derived from Middle English#ALIEN alien, from Old FrenchCategory:Dutch terms derived from Old French#ALIEN alien, from LatinCategory:Dutch terms derived from Latin#ALIEN aliēnus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈeː.li.ən/Category:Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio: (file) - Hyphenation: ali‧en
Noun
alien m (plural aliens, no diminutive)Category:Dutch lemmas#ALIENCategory:Dutch nouns#ALIENCategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -s#ALIENCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Dutch masculine nouns#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- an alien, an extraterrestrial
- Synonyms: buitenaards wezen, ruimtewezen
Finnish
Etymology
< EnglishCategory:Finnish terms borrowed from English#ALIENCategory:Finnish terms derived from English#ALIEN alien, from Ridley Scott's film Alien from 1979.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɑlien/, [ˈɑ̝lie̞n]Category:Finnish 3-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- IPA(key): /ˈei̯lien/, [ˈe̞i̯lie̞n]Category:Finnish 3-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- Rhymes: -ɑlienCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/ɑlien#ALIENCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/ɑlien/3 syllables#ALIEN
- Syllabification(key): a‧li‧en
- Hyphenation(key): ali‧en
Noun
alienCategory:Finnish lemmas#ALIENCategory:Finnish nouns#ALIENCategory:Finnish entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien, extraterrestial (extraterrestrial creature, especially a dangerous one)
- Synonym: avaruusolento
Declension
| Inflection of alien (Kotus type 6/paperi, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | alien | alienit | |
| genitive | alienin | alienien alieneiden alieneitten | |
| partitive | alienia | alieneita alieneja | |
| illative | alieniin | alieneihin | |
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | alien | alienit | |
| accusative | nom. | alien | alienit |
| gen. | alienin | ||
| genitive | alienin | alienien alieneiden alieneitten | |
| partitive | alienia | alieneita alieneja | |
| inessive | alienissa | alieneissa | |
| elative | alienista | alieneista | |
| illative | alieniin | alieneihin | |
| adessive | alienilla | alieneilla | |
| ablative | alienilta | alieneilta | |
| allative | alienille | alieneille | |
| essive | alienina | alieneina | |
| translative | alieniksi | alieneiksi | |
| abessive | alienitta | alieneitta | |
| instructive | — | alienein | |
| comitative | See the possessive forms below. | ||
| Inflection of alien (Kotus type 6/paperi, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | alien | alienit | |
| genitive | alienin | alienien alieneiden alieneitten | |
| partitive | alieniä | alieneitä alienejä | |
| illative | alieniin | alieneihin | |
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | alien | alienit | |
| accusative | nom. | alien | alienit |
| gen. | alienin | ||
| genitive | alienin | alienien alieneiden alieneitten | |
| partitive | alieniä | alieneitä alienejä | |
| inessive | alienissä | alieneissä | |
| elative | alienistä | alieneistä | |
| illative | alieniin | alieneihin | |
| adessive | alienillä | alieneillä | |
| ablative | alieniltä | alieneiltä | |
| allative | alienille | alieneille | |
| essive | alieninä | alieneinä | |
| translative | alieniksi | alieneiksi | |
| abessive | alienittä | alieneittä | |
| instructive | — | alienein | |
| comitative | See the possessive forms below. | ||
| Possessive forms of alien (Kotus type 6/paperi, no gradation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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French
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#ALIENCategory:French terms derived from English#ALIEN alien (“stranger, foreigner”), from Middle EnglishCategory:French terms derived from Middle English#ALIEN alien, from Old FrenchCategory:French terms derived from Old French#ALIEN alien, from LatinCategory:French terms derived from Latin#ALIEN aliēnus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.ljɛn/Category:French 2-syllable words#ALIENCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio (Paris): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio: (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ALIENAudio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Noun
alien m (plural aliens)Category:French lemmas#ALIENCategory:French nouns#ALIENCategory:French countable nouns#ALIENCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:French masculine nouns#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien (extraterrestrial)
Indonesian
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Indonesian terms borrowed from English#ALIENCategory:Indonesian terms derived from English#ALIEN alien, from Middle EnglishCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Middle English#ALIEN alien, from Old FrenchCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Old French#ALIEN alien, aliene, from LatinCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Latin#ALIEN aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from LatinCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Latin#ALIEN alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ALIEN *h₂élyos.
Pronunciation
- (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /aˈliɛn/ [aˈli.ɛn]Category:Indonesian 3-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- Rhymes: -ɛnCategory:Rhymes:Indonesian/ɛn#ALIENCategory:Rhymes:Indonesian/ɛn/3 syllables#ALIEN
- Syllabification: a‧li‧en
Noun
alien (plural alien-alien)Category:Indonesian lemmas#ALIENCategory:Indonesian nouns#ALIENCategory:Indonesian entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien
- person, etc. from outside
- (governmentCategory:id:Government#ALIEN immigration) foreigner
- life form of non-Earth origin
Further reading
- “alien”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old FrenchCategory:Middle English terms borrowed from Old French#ALIENCategory:Middle English terms derived from Old French#ALIEN alien, aliene, from LatinCategory:Middle English terms derived from Latin#ALIEN aliēnus. Some forms (chiefly nominal) show assimilation to the suffix -ant.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aːliˈɛːn/, /ˈaːliɛn/, /ˈaːliən/Category:Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- (with assimilation) IPA(key): /ˈaːliant/, /ˈaːliau̯nt/Category:Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
Noun
alienCategory:Middle English lemmas#ALIENCategory:Middle English nouns#ALIENCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN (plural aliens)
- 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, folio 49, verso, 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 aliensCategory:Middle English terms with quotations#ALIEN
- But they don't follow a stranger; they'll flee from them instead, because they don't recognise strangers' voices.
- One who is alien in some other way (e.g. religion, family)
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#ALIEN) An unlawful occupier or possessor of land.
Related terms
Descendants
References
- “āliē̆n, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 25 February 2019.
Adjective
alien (plural and weak singular aliene)Category:Middle English lemmas#ALIENCategory:Middle English adjectives#ALIENCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- Outside, alien, foreign; from or relating to another nation.
- Religiously outside; heretical, erring; of false religion or morals.
- Distant, isolated, secure, away (from something)
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#ALIEN) Under the authority of other nation's religious institutions.
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#ALIEN) Not relating to or of oneself; not natural (to one's body).
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#ALIEN) Bizarre, weird, exotic.
Descendants
References
- “āliēn, ālien, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 25 February 2019.
Etymology 2
From Old FrenchCategory:Middle English terms borrowed from Old French#ALIENCategory:Middle English terms derived from Old French#ALIEN alier.
Verb
alienCategory:Middle English alternative forms#ALIENCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alternative form of allien
Old French
Etymology
From LatinCategory:Old French terms borrowed from Latin#ALIENCategory:Old French terms derived from Latin#ALIEN aliēnus.
Adjective
alien m (oblique and nominative feminine singular aliene)Category:Old French lemmas#ALIENCategory:Old French adjectives#ALIENCategory:Old French entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien; foreign; non-native
- 11th century, La Vie de Saint Alexis, BNF manuscript 19525
- 11th century, La Vie de Saint Alexis, BNF manuscript 19525
Declension
Noun
alien oblique singular, m (oblique plural aliens, nominative singular aliens, nominative plural alien)Category:Old French lemmas#ALIENCategory:Old French nouns#ALIENCategory:Old French masculine nouns#ALIENCategory:Old French entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Old French masculine nouns#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien (a non-native)
Declension
Descendants
Portuguese
Alternative forms
Etymology
Category:Portuguese terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ALIENCategory:Portuguese terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂el- (other)#ALIENUnadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from English#ALIENCategory:Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English#ALIENCategory:Portuguese terms derived from English#ALIEN alien (“extraterrestrial life form”). Doublet of alheioCategory:Portuguese doublets#ALIEN.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈa.li.ẽj̃/ [ˈa.lɪ.ẽɪ̯̃], (faster pronunciation) /ˈa.ljẽj̃/ [ˈa.ljẽɪ̯̃]Category:Portuguese 3-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Portuguese 2-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
Noun
alien m (plural aliens)Category:Portuguese lemmas#ALIENCategory:Portuguese nouns#ALIENCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#ALIENCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien; extraterrestrial life form
- Synonyms: alienígena, ET, extraterrestre
Spanish
Alternative forms
Etymology
Category:Spanish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ALIENCategory:Spanish terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂el- (other)#ALIENEnglishCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from English#ALIENCategory:Spanish terms derived from English#ALIEN alien (“extraterrestrial life form”). Or clipping of alienígena
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈaljen/ [ˈa.ljẽn], /ˈeiljen/ [ˈei̯.ljẽn]Category:Spanish 2-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Spanish 2-syllable words#ALIENCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#ALIEN
- Rhymes: -aljen, -eiljenCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/aljen#ALIENCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/aljen/2 syllables#ALIENCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/eiljen#ALIENCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/eiljen/2 syllables#ALIEN
- Syllabification: a‧lien
Noun
alien m (plural aliens)Category:Spanish lemmas#ALIENCategory:Spanish nouns#ALIENCategory:Spanish countable nouns#ALIENCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#ALIENCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#ALIENCategory:Pages with entries#ALIENCategory:Pages with 10 entries#ALIEN
- alien; extraterrestrial life form
- Synonyms: ET, extraterrestre
Further reading
- “alien”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025