alien (English)
Where does "alien" come from?
The English word 'alien' traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*h₂el-', which denotes something that is 'beyond' or 'other'[4][6]. This evolved into the Proto-Indo-European form '*h₂élyos'[1][6], which later became the Latin 'alius', meaning 'other'[1][4]. By adding the suffix '-ēnus', Latin speakers formed the word 'aliēnus', which originally meant 'belonging to someone else' before shifting in usage to describe something 'exotic' or 'foreign'[1][5]. The term passed through Old French as 'alien' and entered Middle English with the same form[1][2][3]. Over time, the meaning expanded beyond its initial sense of a foreigner to encompass anyone estranged or excluded from a group and even non-human life forms of extraterrestrial origin[1].
Open questions
- The derivation of the Proto-Indo-European form '*h₂élyos' remains a reconstruction of the linguistic root '*h₂el-'. [4] [6]
- Some Middle English nominal forms of the word show signs of assimilation to the suffix '-ant'. [2]
Full etymology tree
- alien (English), 'A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.'
- inherited alien (Middle English), 'An outsider or foreign person, especially if resident in one's nation.'
- borrowed alien (Old French), 'alien; foreign; non-native'
- inherited alienus (Latin), 'Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign'
- compound alius (Latin), 'other, another, any other'
- inherited *aljos (Proto-Italic), 'another'
- inherited *h₂élyos (Proto-Indo-European), 'other, another'
- derived *h₂el- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grow, nourish'
- inherited *h₂élyos (Proto-Indo-European), 'other, another'
- inherited *aljos (Proto-Italic), 'another'
- affix -enus (Latin), 'alternative form of -nus, used to form some distributive numerals.'
- compound alius (Latin), 'other, another, any other'
- inherited alienus (Latin), 'Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign'
- borrowed alien (Old French), 'alien; foreign; non-native'
- inherited alien (Middle English), 'An outsider or foreign person, especially if resident in one's nation.'
Ancestors
- alien (Middle English)
- alien (Old French)
- alienus (Latin)
- alius (Latin)
- *h₂élyos (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- else (English)
Descendants and derived words
- alien abduction (English)
- alienage (English)
- alien hand syndrome (English)
- alienish (English)
- alienlike (English)
- alien nucleic acid (English)
- alien prior (English)
- alien priory (English)
- alien reproduction vehicle (English)
- aliensdidit (English)
- alien space bats (English)
- ancient alien (English)
Sources
- alien (English) - Wiktionary
- alien (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- alien (Old French) - Wiktionary
- alius (Latin) - Wiktionary
- alienus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- h₂élyos (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- aljos (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris