Meanings
- historicalThe old alliance between Scotland and France against England.
[…] Whose sires were to the Auld Alliance true, / They, by the Maiden's side, […]
1894, Andrew Lang, Ban and Arrière Ban: A Rally of Fugitive Rhymes, A Scot to Jeanne D'Arc, page 1, lines 3–43 more examples
In any case, whatever the importance of such details, the relation of the two books is a further evidence of the literary side of the ‘auld alliance’.
1897, William Allan Neilson, “The Original of "The Complaynt of Scotlande"”, in The Journal of Germanic Philology, volume 1, number 4, →JSTOR, page 412Whether it is a consequence of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France or not, the French comparative lawyers have always been conspicuously more appreciative of the virtues of Scots law than have English scholars and judges […]
1955, David Maxwell Walker, “Some Characteristics of Scots Law”, in The Modern Law Review, volume 18, number 4, →JSTOR, page 326Therefore, if the French have decided that they wish to be difficult, which is not an unprecedented habit of the French, then that is a matter that the hon. Gentleman should take up with the auld alliance.
2021 July 22, Jacob Rees-Mogg, “Business of the House”, in parliamentary debates (House of Commons), column 1162
Origin
From the Scots for old + alliance.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Auld Alliance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Auld%20Alliance
“Auld Alliance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Auld%20Alliance. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Auld Alliance,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Auld%20Alliance.
Source: Auld Alliance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.