realignment

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + alignment.^[2][3][4] Alignment is from French alignement, from aligner (“to arrange in a line”).^[3][2] The verb realign came later, probably after the noun, and Etymonline allows that it may be a back-formation from it.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Arranging something in line again: 1850 in Etymonline,^[3] 1862 in the OED, in O. J. Victor's Incidents and Anecdotes of the War.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word moved from physical arrangement to politics: the OED's sense includes the reorganization of political affiliations or alliances,^[2] in step with the political sense of alignment, from 1933,^[3] and the use of realign for European international relations, from 1923.^[3] The verb itself is recorded by 1876, of railway tracks, in Etymonline^[3] and in 1910 in the OED.^[2]

Timeline

• 1850 – the action of aligning again.^[3] The OED's first quotation is from 1862.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of realigning something, or the state of being realigned; a new or changed alignment: The road realignment took two years.^[4][2][5]
2. A reorganization of political affiliations or alliances.^[2][5]

Related words

• realign
• alignment
• align

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins