Etymograph

English

align

Align comes from Middle English alynen ‘copulate’, from Latin lineare ‘make straight or perpendicular’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *līnom.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*līnom1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīnum2‘flax’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīneus2‘flaxen’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElinea2‘line’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElineare2‘make straight or perpendicular’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400alignier2
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aligner2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alynen2‘copulate’
  9. Englishtodayalign2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin linum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English align

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*līnomWiktionary, Latin linumreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīnumWiktionary, English align‘flax’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīneusWiktionary, English align‘flaxen’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElineaWiktionary, English align‘line’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElineareWiktionary, English align‘make straight or perpendicular’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400alignierWiktionary, English align
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600alignerWiktionary, English align
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alynenWiktionary, English align‘copulate’
  9. EnglishtodayalignWiktionary, English align

Linked words

through Latin līnum ‘flax’

leno, lint, 15 more

through Latin līneus ‘flaxen’

lingerie, lineal, 12 more

through Latin linea ‘line’

del, linear, lineage, delineate, linea, ligne, 13 more

through Middle French aligner

aline, 2 more

Today it means

verb To form a line; to fall into line.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “align”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin linum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *līnom / align

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