Wordwyrt

ally

/ˈælaɪ/A-ligh
/ˈælaɪ/A-ligh

Meaningto bind to

Common meaning: a partner joined by agreement

‘to, towards (form of ad-)’ + ‘to tie, bind’ → ally

Journey through time

  1. Latinligō, ligāvī‘to tie, bind’
  2. Old Frenchaliersource
  3. Middle Englishaliensource
  4. Englishally‘a partner joined by agreement’ · today

al- also in: alarmalludeallocatealleviate

ly also in: obligereligion

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin ligō ‘to tie, bind’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry ligō, p. 1064 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

obligereligion

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app