alias

Etymology

According to the OED it is partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman alias and alias (“also known as”), and partly borrowed from Latin aliās (“at another time, otherwise”);^[2] most other dictionaries take it from Latin alone.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} The Anglo-Norman and Middle French adverb meant "also known as" from the 14th century or earlier, and the noun, a second writ, is recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1418.^[2] In post-classical Latin the adverb meant "otherwise named" from about 1306 in British sources, and Late Latin also used it for "in another way".^[2][4] The Latin adverb is formed from alius (“other”) with the adverbial ending -ās,^[2][9] and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *al- (“beyond”), the source also of else.^[4][9] Klein compares Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos, “another”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (aljis, “other”) and Old English elles (“otherwise”).^[10] German has had alias, also known as, since the 15th century.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, a second writ issued when the first had failed: 1465, in a letter of Margaret Paston.^[2] The writ took its name from the words sicut alias praecipimus, "as we commanded at another time", with which it began.^[2][7][8] Barnhart dates the adverb to about 1432,^[3] Etymonline to the mid-15th century,^[4] and the OED's first record of it is from before 1475.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The adverb, "otherwise called", was used especially in legal proceedings to link the different names a person had gone by.^[5][2] Johnson (1755) noted it as a Latin word often used in the trials of criminals who had changed their names, as in "Simpson alias Smith, alias Baker".^[11] The noun, an assumed name, followed in 1605, in Camden's Remaines,^[2][3][5] and a verb, to give someone an alias, in 1790.^[2] In the mid-20th century the word was taken up in technical fields:^[12] in statistics (1945), in signal processing for a false frequency produced by sampling (1958; the verb from 1954), and in computing for another name for a file, address or other item (1969).^[2][12] In West Indian slang alias has been used as an adjective, dangerous or violent.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 1432 – adverb, otherwise called (Barnhart's date).^[3]
• 1465 – noun, in law, a second writ.^[2]
• before 1475 – adverb, also known as.^[2]
• 1605 – noun, an assumed or alternative name.^[2][3][5]
• 1790 – verb, to give an alias.^[2]
• 1945 – in statistics.^[2]
• 1958 – in electronics, a false signal frequency.^[2]
• 1969 – in computing, an alternative name for a file or item.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Otherwise known as; also called: the forger Henry Wells, alias Harry Webb.^[14][5][2]

Noun

1. An assumed or false name; a pseudonym: He travelled under several aliases.^[14][5][2]
2. In computing, an alternative name for a file, command, network address or other item.^[2][12]
3. In electronics, a false frequency that appears when a signal is sampled too seldom.^[2][12]
4. (law, historical) A second writ, issued when the first had no effect.^[2][7][8]

Verb

1. To give an alias to; in computing and signal processing, to merge distinct items or signals by mistake.^[2]

Related words

• else
• alien
• alibi

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
14. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins