[ad. mod. Fr. aligne-r, f. à to + ligner, ad. L. līneā-re to line, f. līnea a LINE; prob. due to phrase à ligne, ‘into line.’ As line is the Eng. spelling of Fr. ligne and ligner, there is no good reason for retaining the unetymological g in the derivative: see ALINER.]
1. To range, place or lay in a line; to bring into line.
1693. Evelyn, De la Quint. Compl. Gard. Dict., To Aline, is to range, level, or lay even in, and to a strait and direct Line. Said of Walls, Rows of Trees, and sides of Banks, Allies, or Beds, which is performed with Lines fastened to Spikes fixed in the Ground or Wall.
1863. R. Burton, Abeokuta, II. 135. Trees, so aligned that they presented a sharp edge to the gales.
1879. Rutley, Study Rocks, vii. 53. The cobweb is aligned on one of the faces of the crystal.
1881. Daily News, 15 Sept., 3/4. The route will be in parts aligned and widened.
2. intr. (for refl.) To fall into line.
1877. Kinglake, Crimea (ed. 6), IV. xiii. 415. The array in which Dundas consented to align with the French.
3. To bring two or more points into a straight line; spec. said of bringing the ‘sights’ of a rifle into line with the mark, so as to aim straight.
1860. Hunt Grounds O. World, Ser. I. xxvi. (ed. 2), 506. ‘Aiming drill’ … teaching him how to ‘align’ his rifle, or ‘aim’ correctly at a mark.
1861. J. MacGregor, in Jrnl. Soc. Arts, IX. 477/2. A slight stoop of the head enables the eye to align the sights and the bull’s-eye.
b. To get or take in a line with something else, as e.g., to hit with the same shot.
1853. Kane, Grinnell Exp., xxxvii. (1856), 338. Regretting that my one ball could not align his mate.
