alien

plural aliens · alternative alyaunte

1. A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration.

   An animated film intended to inform travellers about the dangers that alien species present to Arctic ecosystems is being released today. The message is that it is important to ensure that nobody accidentally brings alien species with them as stowaways in their clothing, baggage or equipment.

   2023 March 21 (last accessed), NOBANIS: European Network on Invasive Species

   Synonyms: fremd, guest, stranger

2. A citizen or national of another sovereign state.

   I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York

   1987, “Englishman in New York”, in …Nothing Like the Sun, performed by Sting

   3 more examples

   An alien born may purchase lands, or other estates: but not for his own use; for the king is thereupon entitled to them.

   1773, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the laws of England: in four books, 5th edition, volume 1, page 372

   The counsel have shown conclusively that they are not a state of the union, and have insisted that individually they are aliens, not owing allegiance to the United States.

   1831, John Marshall, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, U.S. Government

   Aliens are aliens because of persecution or war or hardship or famine.

   2004, Wesley Campbell, Stephen Court, Be a hero: the battle for mercy and social justice, Destiny Image Publishers, page 74

3. derogatorysometimesA mischievous or suspicious foreigner.
4. Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin.

   1 more example

   You might not have much use for me. You spend too much time with the damn aliens, pretending your time in the gangs back on Earth never happened. I know you weren't happy when I found you at the Citadel a couple years back. But I'm glad you're on this. I hope you find whoever took my people on Freedom's Progress and kick their scaly asses. I'm glad it's a human finding these bastards.

   2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hello from the Reds

5. One excluded from certain privileges; one alienated or estranged.

   […]aliens from the common wealth of Iſrael[…]

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ephesians 2:12, column 2

   1 more example

   The One Who, in this marvellous utterance, brings those who were by nature aliens and enemies of God into intimate and holy relations with God the Father, is the very One Who had to come to offer that Sacrifice without which such relationship would have been forever an impossibility; without which there would have been nothing for the best of men but death and judgment and the lake of fire.

   1928, Philip Mauro, “The Character of the Sermon on the Mount”, in The Gospel of the Kingdom, with an Examination of Modern Dispensationalism (Religion), Boston: Hamilton Brothers, →OCLC, page 182

comparative more alien · superlative most alien · alternative alyaunte

1. Not belonging to the same country, land, or government, or to the citizens or subjects thereof; foreign.

   alien subjects, enemies, property, or shores

   Synonyms: allotrious, strange, acquired, additional, adventitious, ascititious, extraneous, foreign

2. Very unfamiliar, strange, or removed.

   principles alien to our religion

   1 more example

   An alien sound of melancholy.

   1850, William Wordsworth, The Prelude

   Synonyms: monstrous, weird, aberrant, abnormal, anomalous, as queer as Dick's hatband, bizarre, booky

3. Pertaining to extraterrestrial life; typical of an extraterrestrial creature.

   It had a peculiar alien tallness, a peculiar alien flattened head, peculiar slitty little alien eyes[.]

   1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 8

   Synonyms: extraterrestrial, nonterrestrial, xenomorphic

present singular third person aliens · participle present aliening · participle past aliened · past aliened · alternative aliene · alternative alyaunte

1. transitiveTo estrange; to alienate.
2. lawTo transfer the ownership of something.

1. alternativeAlternative form of Alian.

   Premier Chiang Ching-kuo traveled to Alien village in Kaohsiung county May 23 to inspect the Chung-chou No. 3 oilwell prospect of Chinese Petroleum Corporation.

   1977, 光華畫報, volume 2, numbers 2-12, →OCLC, page 25

   2 more examples

   A woman holds up two bowls containing eggs at a press conference in Taipei yesterday. The left contains a regular egg, while the other bowl is an SGS-certified egg from Taiwan’s first company to use humanely raised egg-laying hens from Europe, the Shih An Farm in Greater Kaohsiung’s Alien District.

   2012 July 5, Lee I-chia, “COA fights for hens’ rights”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Jul 2012, Taiwan News, page 3

   Res Matilin comes from Sandi Village, a Paiwan community in Pingtung County. Jimmy comes from Alien Township, Kaohsiung City and has Minnan ethnicity. “I decided to come back because I really missed home. I had been away from home for too long.”

   原視

   2019 October 22, Liang Wen-Ching, “Take Pre-wedding Photo Shoot Back Home”, in Phoebe Szu-Yu Huang [黃思瑜], transl., Indigenous Sight [原視], archived from the original on 26 Nov 2023