English
alignment
Alignment comes from French alignement ‘alignment (all senses)’, from Latin linea ‘line’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *līnom.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*līnomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīnum‘flax’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElīneus‘flaxen’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElinea‘line’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElineāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400alignier
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aligner
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘to align’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentalignement‘alignment (all senses)’
- Englishearliest quotation 2022alignment
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*līnomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīnum‘flax’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElīneus‘flaxen’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElinea‘line’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElineāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400alignier
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aligner
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘to align’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentalignement‘alignment (all senses)’
- Englishearliest quotation 2022alignment
Earliest quotation: 2022, Melanie Mitchell, What Does It Mean to Align AI With Human Values?: “It turns out that there’s little overlap between the…”
Equivalent to align + -ment
Proto-Italic *līnom
…
Latin lineare ‘make straight or perpendicular’
Old French alignier
Middle French aligner
Middle English alynen ‘copulate’
English align
Linked words
through Latin līnum ‘flax’
through Latin līneus ‘flaxen’
through Latin linea ‘line’
del, linear, lineage, delineate, linea, ligne, 13 more
through Middle French aligner
Today it means
noun An arrangement of items in a line.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *līnom / alignment