alienage
Americannoun
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the state of being an alien.
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the legal status of an alien.
birthright citizenship for all children born inside the territory, without regard for the alienage of their parents.
Etymology
Origin of alienage
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The court said then “the fundamental rule of citizenship by birth, notwithstanding the alienage of parents” had been established by law.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
It said the rejection was not unlawful because it was “not synonymous” with alienage discrimination.
From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2020
Instead, the court has provided a list of characteristics—race and sex, but also national origin, alienage, and illegitimacy—that it considers unchangeable, leaving legal scholars to connect the dots in most other instances.
From Slate ● May 16, 2019
A: An ERA would likely put gender in the same legal class as race, national origin, religion and alienage.
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2017
First: The power to remove the disabilities of alienage, either by special acts in reference to each individual case, or by establishing a rule of naturalization to be administered and applied by the courts.
From Report of the Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Opinions of the Judges Thereof, in the Case of Dred Scott versus John F.A. Sandford December Term, 1856. by Howard, Benjamin C.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
