alliance

Forms

alliance f (plural alliances)^[1] Old French aliance, also written allianche and aloiance.^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also had aliaunce and alloiance.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French allier + -ance, from the verb's sense of uniting by an agreement.^[3][5][6][7] The verb, Old French aleier, comes from Latin alligō (“to bind to”), from ligō (“to bind”).^[5] Sources date the noun variously: after 1160 in Wace's Roman de Rou (the TLFi), about 1150 (Bloch and Wartburg), about 1120 in the Cambridge Psalter (GLLF) or the end of the 11th century (Grand Robert, DHLF).^{[3][5][7][6][8]}

Littré compares Occitan aliansa, Italian allianza, Spanish alianza and Medieval Latin alligantia.^[2] The Anglo-Norman form is recorded from the first half of the 12th century.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is in Wace's Roman de Rou (after 1160): the king of France sends word that Henry should come and take amur e aliance “friendship and alliance” with him.^[3] A 12th-century translation of the Books of Kings already has l'arche del aliance Deu, “the ark of God's covenant”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word first named a union by mutual commitment, in religion (the Bible) and in politics.^[8] From the 13th century it was also a legal term, and more generally it meant an agreement.^[8] From the biblical sense came l'ancienne and la nouvelle alliance, Judaism and Christianity, and arche d'alliance, all from the 13th century; by metonymy it also named a confederation of allies (13th century).^[8][2]

On the side of family ties, it meant a bond of friendship (about 1180), a sense now gone, and the tie between two families created by marriage (1279).^[8] From there it named the wedding ring, recorded by Cotgrave in 1611;^[7][8] in 1680 Richelet describes a goldsmith's ring of one gold and one silver wire.^[3] Alliance de mots, a striking combination of words, is recorded in Voltaire in 1770.^[7]

In history it names pacts such as the Sainte-Alliance of 1815 between Austria, Prussia and Russia, and today the Alliance française, founded in 1883 to spread the French language.^[8] English alliance comes from the Anglo-Norman word.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – First record according to the GLLF, in the Cambridge Psalter.^[7]
• after 1160 – Aliance “union, alliance” appears in Wace's Roman de Rou.^[3]
• c. 1180 – It is used for a bond of friendship.^[8]
• 13th century – Ancienne and nouvelle alliance, arche d'alliance and the sense “confederation” appear.^[8]
• 1279 – It names the tie created by marriage between two families.^[8]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the sense “wedding ring”.^[7][8]
• 1680 – Richelet describes the goldsmith's ring of gold and silver wire.^[3]
• 1770 – Voltaire uses alliance de mots.^[7]
• 1815 – The Sainte-Alliance is concluded.^[8]
• 1883 – The Alliance française is founded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. An alliance, a union formed by mutual commitment, especially a treaty between states promising help in war: une alliance défensive.^[9][2]
2. An agreement between political parties or other groups: une alliance électorale.^[9]
3. (religion) The covenant between God and his people: l'Ancienne Alliance, la Nouvelle Alliance.^[9][2]
4. Union by marriage, and the kinship it creates between two families: cousin par alliance.^[3][2]
5. A wedding ring: Il a perdu son alliance à la plage.^[2][1]
6. (figurative) A combination, mixture: alliance de mots, an unusual combination of words.^[2][7]

Related words

• allier
• allié
• alliage
• aloi
• rallier
• lier
• Latin alligō
• English alliance

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
4. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert