alliance
See also: Alliance
English
Alternative forms
- alliaunce (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English alliaunce, from Old French aliance (French alliance). Equivalent to ally + -ance. Compare with Doric Greek ἁλία (halía, “assembly”).
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /əˈlaɪ.əns/
- Rhymes: -aɪəns
Audio (UK) (file)
Noun
alliance (countable and uncountable, plural alliances)
- (uncountable) The state of being allied.
- matrimonial alliances
- an alliance between church and state, or between two countries
- (countable) The act of allying or uniting.
- (countable) A union or connection of interests between families, states, parties, etc., especially between families by marriage and states by compact, treaty, or league.
- (countable) Any union resembling that of families or states; union by relationship in qualities; affinity.
- 1624, William Udall, The Historie of the Life and Death of Mary Stuart Queene of Scotland
- And as for kindred , there is no Alliance neerer vnto any one, than their Countrey , that is to be vnto vs another God, and our prime and deareſt Parent.
- 1871, Charles John Smith, Synonyms Discriminated
- the alliance of the principles of the world with those of the gospel
- 1860, Henry Longueville Mansel, Prolegomena Logica: An Inquiry Into the Psychological Character of Logical Processes
- the alliance […] between logic and metaphysics
- 1624, William Udall, The Historie of the Life and Death of Mary Stuart Queene of Scotland
- (with the definite article) The persons or parties allied.
- (India) Marriage.
Synonyms
- (union by relationship in qualities): connection, affinity, union, allyship
- (act of allying): union
- (persons or parties allied): coalition, league, confederation, team (informal)
Derived terms
- gay-straight alliance
- offensive and defensive alliance
- quasi-alliance
- red-green alliance
- red-green-brown alliance
- unholy alliance
Related terms
- ally
Translations
state of being allied
|
union resembling that of families or states
|
persons or parties allied
|
treaty between nations
|
Verb
alliance (third-person singular simple present alliances, present participle alliancing, simple past and past participle allianced)
- (obsolete) To connect or unite by alliance; to ally.
Further reading
- alliance at OneLook Dictionary Search
- alliance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Anagrams
- ancillae, canaille
French
Etymology
allier + -ance
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.ljɑ̃s/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɑ̃s
Noun
alliance f (plural alliances)
- alliance, union
- wedding ring
Descendants
- → Polish: alians
- → Portuguese: aliança
- → Russian: алья́нс (alʹjáns), алья́нсъ (alʹjáns)
- → Armenian: ալյանս (alyans)
- → Kazakh: альянс (aläns)
- → Turkish: alyans
Further reading
- “alliance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- canaille
Middle English
Noun
alliance
- Alternative form of alliaunce