Align

Ginger from Acme, Michigan asked if the word align is related to the word line. Indeed it is. Align came from a Middle French term that meant to arrange two or more items in or along a line.

Bizarrely, its earliest meaning in English (15^th century) referred to a male animal copulating with a female animal. Proper aim is everything in love and war.

In the 18^th century, it was commonly used as a military term, as in cavalry formation or aiming a gun properly at a target. It slipped casually into civilian use to designate anything lined up with geometric precision.

By the 19^th century, it took on the added meaning of associating oneself with a cause, a movement, or a group. For a brief time, a variation was alignation, but it is now labeled as rare. And in our day, given breeding potholes, wheel alignment is a concern for auto owners.

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