alias

[ey-lee-uhs]

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noun, plural a·li·as·es.

a false name used to conceal one's identity; an assumed name: The police files indicate that “Smith” is an alias for Simpson.

adverb

at another time; in another place; in other circumstances; otherwise. “Simpson alias Smith” means that Simpson in other circumstances has called himself Smith.

Origin of alias

1525–35; < Latin aliās (adv.): at another time, otherwise; cf. else

Synonyms for alias

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alias ON THESAURUS.COM

1. nom de guerre; nom de plume, pseudonym.

alias dictus

[ah-lee-ahs dik-too s; English ey-lee-uh s dik-tuh s]

adverb Latin.

otherwise called; alias.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for alias

moniker, pseudonym, handle, nickname, anonym, otherwise, AKA

Examples from the Web for alias

Contemporary Examples of alias

He was living under the alias Alonso Rivera Muñoz as a middling real estate developer and art collector in Querétaro.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali
Jason McGahan
October 19, 2014
Part of the alias and the disguise is masking racism with the mechanisms of large, diverse institutions.
How We Got to Ferguson—a Reading List
David Masciotra
August 23, 2014
Miller, who also uses the alias Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., has an extensive résumé of hate.
Hate—and Hitler—in the Heartland: The Arrest of Frazier Glenn Miller
John Avlon, Caitlin Dickson
April 14, 2014
He orders a Smith Wesson .38 snub-nosed revolver through the mail, using the same alias.
The Man Oswald First Tried to Kill Before JFK
Bill Minutaglio, Steven L. Davis
October 3, 2013
Molina has since admitted to going by the alias Tito during the civil war but denied his troops were involved in any atrocities.
Guatemala’s Trial of the Century
Mac Margolis
May 6, 2013

Historical Examples of alias

He knew well that Josef Blot, alias Weirmarsh, was not a man to be trifled with.
The Doctor of Pimlico
William Le Queux
Pete was disgusted with his brother Homer, alias Bill Moore.
Oh, You Tex!
William Macleod Raine
Thus Griffith, alias Thomas, became her sunbeam, and Paul her cloud.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866
Various
There's a mystery, but James Price, alias Pickles, 'ull unravel it.
Sue, A Little Heroine
L. T. Meade
There are some advantages in the name Smith, I really needed no alias.
Between the Lines
Henry Bascom Smith

British Dictionary definitions for alias

alias

adverb

at another time or place known as or namedDylan, alias Zimmerman

noun plural -ases

an assumed name

Word Origin for alias

C16: from Latin aliās (adv) otherwise, at another time, from alius other

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for alias

adv.

mid-15c., "otherwise called," from Latin alias "at another time, in another way," from alius "(an)other," from PIE *al- "beyond" (cf. Sanskrit anya "other, different," Avestan anya-, Armenian ail, Greek allos "another," Gothic aljis "other," Old English elles "otherwise, else," Modern English else).

"assumed name," c.1600, from alias (adv.).