alien

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈeɪ.li.ən/ See IPA manual

Freq #2453

Meanings

1

noun
A creature from another planet or from outer space.

The film tells the story of aliens landing on Earth.
2

adj
Strange and unfamiliar; very different from what you are used to.

The customs of the remote village felt completely alien to her.
3

noun
A person who is a citizen of another country; a foreigner.

As an alien, he needed a special permit to work in the country.
4

verb
To cause someone to feel distant or unfriendly where there was once warmth.

His harsh words aliened the very friends who had supported him.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · strange and unfamiliar;... foreign exotic

3 noun · a person who is a citizen... foreigner

4 verb · to cause someone to feel... alienate estrange

More outlander

Word family

Forms aliens

Derived forms alienagealienishalienlikealiensdidit

Simplified etymology

Alien entered Middle English through Old French from Latin alienus, meaning “belonging to another,” itself derived from alius, “other.” It first referred to foreigners and began to denote beings from another planet in the 1920s.

Etymology

From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else.

*h₂el- (other) Proto-Indo-European alien Middle English aliēnus Latin alius Latin *h₂élyos Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# alien

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈeɪ.li.ən/
**Frequency rank:** 2453

## Meanings
1. A creature from another planet or from outer space.
2. Strange and unfamiliar; very different from what you are used to.
3. A person who is a citizen of another country; a foreigner.
4. To cause someone to feel distant or unfriendly where there was once warmth.

## Examples
- The film tells the story of aliens landing on Earth.
- The customs of the remote village felt completely alien to her.
- As an alien, he needed a special permit to work in the country.
- His harsh words aliened the very friends who had supported him.

## Synonyms
- foreigner
- outlander

## Derived Forms
- alienage
- alienish
- alienlike
- aliensdidit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂el- (other)
- Root: alien
- Root: aliēnus
- Root: alius
- Root: *h₂élyos

## Etymology
From Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else.

## AI Etymology
Alien is from Middle English alien, a borrowing from Old French alien, aliene, from Latin aliēnus (“belonging to someone else”, later “exotic, foreign”), from Latin alius (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos. Related to English else. Important recorded forms include *h₂el- (other) (Proto-Indo-European), alien (Middle English), aliēnus (Latin), alius (Latin), and *h₂élyos (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include a creature from another planet or from outer space, strange and unfamiliar; very different from what you are used to, and a person who is a citizen of another country; a foreigner. The wider family includes derived forms such as alienage, alienish, alienlike, and aliensdidit.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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