alliance

See also: Alliance

English

Alternative forms

• alliaunce

Etymology

From Old French aliance (French: alliance). Compare with Doric Greek ἁλία (halía, "assembly").

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈlaɪ.əns/
• Rhymes: -aɪəns

Noun

alliance (countable and uncountable, plural alliances)

1. (uncountable) The state of being allied.

   matrimonial alliances; an alliance between church and state, or between two countries

2. (countable) The act of allying or uniting.
3. (countable) A union or connection of interests between families, states, parties, etc., especially between families by marriage and states by compact, treaty, or league.
4. (countable) Any union resembling that of families or states; union by relationship in qualities; affinity.
   • (Can we date this quote?) C. J. Smith

     the alliance of the principles of the world with those of the gospel

   • (Can we date this quote?) Mansel

     the alliance […] between logic and metaphysics

5. (with the definite article) The persons or parties allied.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Nicholas Udall to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (union by relationship in qualities): connection, affinity, union
• (act of allying): union
• (persons or parties allied): coalition, league, confederation, team (informal)

Related terms

• ally

Translations

state of being allied

• Armenian: միություն (hy) (miutʿyun), դաշնակցություն (hy) (dašnakcʿutʿyun)
• Belarusian: саюз m (sajúz)
• Bulgarian: съюз (bg) m (sǎjúz)
• Catalan: aliança (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 同盟 (zh) (tóngméng)

• Czech: unie (cs) f, svaz (cs) m
• Danish: forbund n, sammenslutning c, alliance c
• Dutch: alliantie (nl) f
• Finnish: liitto (fi), liittouma (fi), allianssi (fi)
• French: alliance (fr) f
• Georgian: მოკავშირეობა (moḳavšireoba)
• German: Allianz (de) f, Zusammenschluss (de) m, Verbund (de) m, Bund (de) m, Bündnis (de) n
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: συμμαχία f (summakhía)

• Hungarian: szövetség (hu)
• Icelandic: bandalag n
• Indonesian: persekutuan (id)
• Irish: comhghuaillíocht f
• Japanese: 同盟 (ja) (どうめい, dōmei)

• Korean: 동맹 (ko) (dongmaeng) (同盟 (ko))
• Macedonian: сојуз m (sójuz), унија f (únija)
• Malay: perikatan
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forbund (no) n, allianse (no) m

  Nynorsk: forbund n, allianse m

• Polish: sojusz (pl) m
• Portuguese: aliança (pt)
• Romanian: alianță (ro) f
• Russian: сою́з (ru) m (sojúz), алья́нс (ru) m (alʹjáns)
• Scottish Gaelic: càirdeas m
• Serbo-Croatian: alijansa (sh) f, savez (sh) m, алијанса f, савез m
• Slovak: únia f, zväz m
• Slovene: unija f
• Spanish: alianza (es)
• Swahili: fungamano
• Swedish: allians (sv)
• Telugu: అనుబంధము (te) (anubandhamu)
• Turkish: ittifak (tr)
• Ukrainian: союз m (sojúz)

union resembling that of families or states

• Armenian: միություն (hy) (miutʿyun)
• Bulgarian: съюз (bg) m (sǎjúz), алианс m (aliáns)
• Catalan: aliança (ca) f
• Finnish: side (fi), yhteys (fi)
• French: alliance (fr) f
• German: Allianz (de) f, Bund (de) m, Bündnis (de) n
• Hungarian: szövetség (hu)
• Indonesian: perserikatan (id)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: allianse (no) m

  Nynorsk: allianse m

• Polish: sojusz (pl) m
• Portuguese: aliança (pt) f
• Romanian: alianță (ro) f
• Russian: сою́з (ru) m (sojúz), алья́нс (ru) m (alʹjáns)
• Scottish Gaelic: càirdeas m
• Serbo-Croatian: alijansa (sh) f, savez (sh) m

persons or parties allied

• Catalan: aliança (ca) f
• Esperanto: alianco
• Finnish: liittoutuneet (fi)
• French: alliance (fr) f
• German: Verbündeten (de) pl, m, Bündnis (de) n, Allianz (de) f
• Hungarian: szövetség (hu)

• Irish: comhghuaillíocht f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: allianse (no) m

  Nynorsk: allianse m

• Portuguese: aliados m pl
• Romanian: alianță (ro) f

treaty between nations

• Armenian: ալյանս (hy) (alyans)
• Bulgarian: алианс m (aliáns)
• Catalan: aliança (ca) f
• Dutch: alliantie (nl) f
• Finnish: liittouma (fi), liittoutuma (fi), liitto (fi)
• French: alliance (fr) f
• German: Allianz (de) f, Bündnis (de) n
• Hungarian: szövetség (hu)
• Indonesian: persekutuan (id), aliansi (id)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: allianse (no) m

  Nynorsk: allianse m

• Portuguese: aliança (pt) f
• Romanian: alianță (ro) f
• Russian: сою́з (ru) m (sojúz), алья́нс (ru) m (alʹjáns)
• Serbo-Croatian: alijansa (sh) f
• Swedish: allians (sv) c

Verb

alliance (third-person singular simple present alliances, present participle alliancing, simple past and past participle allianced)

1. (obsolete) To connect or unite by alliance; to ally.

Further reading

• alliance at OneLook Dictionary Search
• alliance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

• ancillae, canaille

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French

Etymology

allier + -ance

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ljɑ̃s/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

alliance f (plural alliances)

1. alliance, union
2. wedding ring

Further reading

• “alliance” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• canaille