al|ly

al|ly «noun. AL y, uh LY; see note below; verb. uh LY», noun, plural -lies, verb, -lied, -ly|ing.

–n.

1. a person, group, or nation united with another for some special purpose: »

England and France have been allies in some wars, though they have fought against each other in others.

See also Allies. (Cf. ↑Allies) SYNONYM(S): associate, confederate.

2. a helper; supporter: »

Figurative. Science instead of being the enemy of religion, becomes its ally (Henry Thomas Buckle).

3. a related animal, plant, form, or thing.

–v.t.

1. to combine for some special purpose; unite by formal agreement: »

The premier of Belgium signed a treaty that allied his country to France.

2. to associate; connect: »

This newspaper is allied with three others.

SYNONYM(S): affiliate.

3. to relate by similarity, as of structure or descent; connect by a common origin: »

Dogs are allied to wolves.

–v.i.

to join or unite; enter into alliance: »

to ally against the common enemy.

╂[< Old French allier, alteration of aleier < Latin alligāre < ad- to + ligāre bind. See etym. of doublet alloy, verb. (Cf. ↑alloy)]

Usage ally. The two pronunciations of the noun may often be used by the same speaker, the choice between them being determined by the position of the word in a sentence and the cadence preferred. See allied for another usage note. (Cf. ↑allied)

-ally,

suffix forming adverbs. in a _____ic manner: »

Basically = in a basic manner. Tragically = in a tragic manner.

╂[< al¹ + -ly¹]