alinear

Forms

alinear (first-person singular present alineo, first-person singular preterite alineé, past participle alineado)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish a- + línea + -ar, “to put in a line”.^[1][2][3][4] Corominas lists it among the learned derivatives of línea.^[5][6] García de Diego files it under Latin allineāre (“to put in order”), calling the Spanish verb a learned form beside the popular aliñar.^[7] The DTME also contrasts the learned verb, found from 1705, with the popular one, found from 1250.^[8] The popular verb meant “to put in line” at first and then “to arrange, dress”.^[6]

The noun is taken from Latin līnea (“linen thread; line”), derived from līnum (“flax”).^[9] Echegaray compared French aligner and Occitan alinhar.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DTME dates the word to 1705, and the CDH's first hit is the Memorias of Raimundo de Lantery of that year, where it means “to put in order”: debía haber alineado todo “he must have put everything in order”.^[8][11] The sense “lined up” is clear in Moratín's journey to Italy (1793–1797), with a fine road alineado de árboles “lined with trees”.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Corominas and the Breve diccionario date the word only from the Academy's dictionary of 1843, which defined it as “to put in a straight line”; the 1817 edition did not have it.^[5][6][12] Domínguez in 1846 recorded it as a military word of command for forming soldiers in a straight line, and Gaspar y Roig added a use in horsemanship.^[13][14] The 20th century added the senses of including a player in a team for a match, of aligning a person or group with a political or ideological tendency, and of adjusting the parts of a machine in line.^[15][16]

In Andalusia and the Americas the form aliniar is found, and in New Mexico and Argentina aliñar.^[3] Some speakers of Honduras and Mexico use alinearse for “to get up to date”.^[17]

Timeline

• 1705 – first record, in Lantery's Memorias.^[8][11]
• 1793–1797 – Moratín describes a road lined with trees.^[11]
• 1795 – Cavanilles describes ruined houses with walls in line.^[11]
• 1843 – first in the Academy's dictionary.^[5][12]
• 1846 – Domínguez records it as a military command.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive, also pronominal) To line up or align; to place three or more people or things in a straight line: Alineó los libros en el estante.^[16][18][1]
2. (transitive, sports) To include a player in a team for a particular match.^[16][18]
3. (transitive, also pronominal) To link someone or something to an ideological or political tendency.^[16][18]
4. (transitive, mechanics) To adjust two or more parts of a mechanism in line so that it works properly.^[16]

Word family

• alineación
• desalinear

Related words

• línea
• aliñar
• delinear
• French aligner

Usage notes

The i of the stem is unstressed, alineo, alineas, alinea, but under the influence of línea the stress often moves to it in colloquial speech: alíneo, alínea.^[18][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. alinear
4. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 89
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 661
6. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. línea
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 430
8. ^ a b c Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. alinear
9. ^ Le Men Loyer, Janick (2002–2012), Léxico del leonés actual, 4 vols., León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro; electronic version, Universidad de León, p. s.v. alinear
10. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 231
11. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. alinear
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 34
13. ^ a b Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 91
14. ^ Gaspar y Roig (eds.) (1853–1855), Biblioteca ilustrada de Gaspar y Roig: Diccionario enciclopédico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Imprenta y Librería de Gaspar y Roig, p. 1, 110
15. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. alinear
16. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. alinear
17. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. alinear
18. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. alinear