Ally

How to spell ally

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ally

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ally mean?

1. nounA person, group, or nation joined with another for a shared purpose or mutual support.
2. verbTo join or unite with another for a common purpose.

Ally in a sentence

• noun

  The small nation looked for a powerful ally before the negotiations began.

• verb

  The two firms decided to ally themselves against the larger competitor.

• noun

  She found a reliable ally in the new finance director.

• verb

  Smaller parties often ally with each other to win a vote.

Where does ally come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb alligare, meaning 'to bind to' or 'to tie one thing to another', formed from ad ('to') and ligare ('to bind'). It reached English in the 1300s through the Old French alier, which carried the sense of joining people together by treaty, marriage, or kinship. The earliest English uses described relatives and kinsmen bound together by blood, before the meaning settled on partners united for a common cause. The same ligare root sits inside familiar words such as 'ligament' (the tissue that binds bones) and 'oblige', which is a useful reminder that an ally is someone bound to your side. The stress shift between the noun (AL-eye) and the verb (uh-LYE) survives in modern English and is the main thing to keep straight, since the spelling stays the same.

How the word is built

• al- (variant of ad-, 'to')
• -ly (from Latin ligare, 'to bind or tie')