• alyaunte (15th–16th centuries)

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.li.ən/
• enPR: ā′-lē-ən, āl′-yən^[1]

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -eɪliən

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^[1]:

     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. 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.

   • 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. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (sometimes derogatory) A mischievous or suspicious foreigner.
4. 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.

5. 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^[2] (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.

• (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

• → Japanese: エイリアン

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.

   Synonyms: allotrious, strange; see also Thesaurus:foreign

   alien subjects, enemies, property, or shores

2. Very unfamiliar, strange, or removed.

   Synonyms: monstrous, weird; see also Thesaurus:strange

   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.

   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[.]

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

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

• aliene

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

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əˈli.ən]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [aˈli.en]

alien

1. third-person plural present indicative of aliar

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈeː.li.ən/

• Audio:

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• Hyphenation: ali‧en

alien m (plural aliens, no diminutive)

1. an alien, an extraterrestrial

   Synonyms: buitenaards wezen, ruimtewezen

< English alien, from Ridley Scott's film Alien from 1979.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑlien/, [ˈɑ̝lie̞n]
• IPA^(key): /ˈei̯lien/, [ˈe̞i̯lie̞n]
• Rhymes: -ɑlien
• Syllabification^(key): a‧li‧en
• Hyphenation^(key): ali‧en

alien

1. alien, extraterrestial (extraterrestrial creature, especially a dangerous one)

   Synonym: avaruusolento

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

• IPA^(key): /a.ljɛn/

• Audio (Paris):

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• Audio:

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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alien m (plural aliens)

1. alien (extraterrestrial)

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

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /aˈliɛn/ [aˈli.ɛn]
• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: a‧li‧en

alien (plural alien-alien)

1. alien
   1. person, etc. from outside
   2. (government immigration) foreigner
   3. life form of non-Earth origin

• “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

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

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

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

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.)‎^[3], 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 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.

• English: alien
• Scots: alien, awlien

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

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.

• English: alien
• Scots: alien, awlien

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

From Old French alier.

alien

1. alternative form of allien

From Latin aliēnus.

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

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

1. alien (a non-native)

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

• álien

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

alien m (plural aliens)

1. alien; extraterrestrial life form

   Synonyms: alienígena, ET, extraterrestre

• alién

English alien (“extraterrestrial life form”). Or clipping of alienígena

• IPA^(key): /ˈaljen/ [ˈa.ljẽn], /ˈeiljen/ [ˈei̯.ljẽn]
• Rhymes: -aljen, -eiljen
• Syllabification: a‧lien

alien m (plural aliens)

1. alien; extraterrestrial life form

   Synonyms: ET, extraterrestre

• “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

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