Talk:alien

2nd Def
Isn't the second noun def. limited to the US ?


 * I think so too. I have never been called that outside the US (and I have visited quite a few other countries). D.D. 20:35 Dec 22, 2002 (UTC)

Not at all even though the more legalistic sense has become more common in the US than elsewhere. Eclecticology

I have no idea where this should go, but what about the legalistic definition of 'alien' - during war and times of trouble 'enemy aliens' are interned etc. An 'alien' is a person from elsewhere... but I guess this is kind of covered in def.1... Karen J.


 * In Japan registration for foreigners is still called "Alien Registration". Sounds awful.
 * Anyway: I think in the translations section, the words should be better disambiguated, i.e. separated by meaning 1/2/3 to make clear at a glance what they mean, a foreigner, an extraterrestrial, or an outsider. 133.91.8.3 09:39, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

Directly from Latin?
Was this borrowed directly from Latin into English? Could be via Old French. Or perhaps Middle French if it was a later borrowing. I don't know. Mglovesfun (talk) 15:39, 8 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Old French. Hence. --Pilcrow 15:44, 8 September 2011 (UTC)

Humans that are Aliens
Within Science Fiction, beings that are sapient extraterrestrial aliens (intelligent life not originating on Earth) from the perspective of human beings (of Earth) will occasionally refer to human beings as aliens. Therefore, the wording "Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin." Is too limiting. On, , an alien being says to Commander Shepard (human): "We don't often allow aliens to do business on Tuchanka, but you're an exception." I'm sure I've seen this kind of usage elsewhere. Anyway, the point is that "extraterrestrial" currently reads "Originating from outside of the Earth's atmosphere, from space, or from another planet". So the way this word is defined may be correct for a narrow sense, but it is very Earth-centric and human-centric, and there may be a broader sense for 'alien' that recognizes that aliens can view human beings as aliens. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 21:19, 14 August 2022 (UTC)