alien (English)
Where does "alien" come from?
The word 'alien' traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂élyos, meaning 'other,' which also gave us the English word 'else.' It evolved into the Latin 'aliēnus,' a term describing things belonging to someone else or considered foreign. After passing through Old French into Middle English, the word took on its modern sense of someone or something existing outside of one's own familiar territory or sphere of existence.
Full etymology tree
- alien (English), 'A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.'
- borrowed alien (Middle English), 'An outsider or foreign person, especially if resident in one's nation.'
- borrowed alien (Old French), 'alien; foreign; non-native'
- inherited aliēnus (Latin), 'Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign'
- derived 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'
- suffix -ēnus (Latin), 'alternative form of -nus, used to form some distributive numerals.'
- derived alius (Latin), 'other, another, any other'
- inherited aliēnus (Latin), 'Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign'
- borrowed alien (Old French), 'alien; foreign; non-native'
- borrowed alien (Middle English), 'An outsider or foreign person, especially if resident in one's nation.'
Direct ancestors
- alien (Middle English)
- alien (Old French)
- alienus (Latin)
- alius (Latin)
- h₂élyos (Proto-Indo-European)
- else (English)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris