Other forms: alliances
An alliance is a union of parties who agree to help each other. A military alliance, form an alliance, an uneasy alliance.
The binding part is what makes one worth having: a defensive alliance commits each member to treat an attack on one as an attack on all. In politics it also names a coalition of parties that stops short of merging.
1nounallianceA union of parties who agree to help each other.
“The two small parties formed an alliance to win more seats.”
alliance is a union.
Old French aliance comes from alier, to bind together, from Latin alligare.
French
alliance
Old French
aliance
Middle English
alliaunce
English, today
alliance
From Middle English alliaunce, from Old French aliance (French alliance). Equivalent to ally + -ance. Compare with grc-dor ἁλία (“assembly”). See also al-.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA