Etymology and origin of the French word alignement
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1300s poem added to the Roman de Fauvel (isolated) More words from the 13th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin līnea
Etymology tree
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /a.liɲ.mɑ̃/[1]
Forms
alignement m (plural alignements)[1]
Etymology
It is formed from French aligner + -ment.[2][3][4][1] The verb is derived from ligne, from Latin līnea.[5][6]
Cognate with Old Occitan alignamen.[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
An isolated early 14th-century record, in a poem copied after the Roman de Fauvel, uses it of the inherited quality that shows a man's lineage.[2] The lasting sense is legal: from 1387 it names the line fixed by the authorities between the public way and private properties.[4][3][7]
Semantic evolution
In 1428 it is used more generally for the action of setting things in a straight line and the state of what is so set.[2][4] Cotgrave (1611) also records it for a line drawn by rule and level, and in hunting for the mating of a bitch.[2] It became a military command (1774), à droite, alignement !.[4][8]
About 1950 it took the figurative sense of conforming to the views of a stronger power, as in the alignment of one country's policy on another's, and of a currency on another (alignement monétaire).[4][8][7]
Timeline
- Early 14th century – An isolated record in the sense “lineage”.[2]
- 1387 – The legal sense, the line between the public way and private land.[4][7]
- 1428 – “Arrangement in a straight line”.[2][4]
- 1600 – Allignement in an ordinance of the provost of Paris on roads.[2]
- 1611 – Cotgrave records it.[2]
- 1774 – A military command.[4]
- c. 1950 – Conforming to a stronger power.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- Arrangement in a straight line, or the state of being so arranged.[7][2]
- (law) The line fixed by the authorities for the frontage of buildings on a public road.[7][6]
- (military) The lining up of soldiers, and the command for it.[6][8]
- (figurative) Conforming to the policy of another: l'alignement d'un pays sur une grande puissance.[7][8]
- (archaeology) A row of standing stones.[6]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry
“Alignement.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/alignement. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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