Hi there.  Not a contributor generally to this listserv, but I saw this
query and thought I'd try to help.  My favorite etymologist, the late
one-man tour de force, Eric Partridge, succinctly states the following for
his entry on alias/alibi:

"alias; alibi: L[atin] alias, otherwise, esp[ecially] otherwise called;
L[atin] alibi, elsewhere: both from alius, other."

Brackets mine, emphasis his.

Alan Messmer
News Researcher
The Christian Science Monitor
One Norway St.
Boston, MA  02115
http://www.csmonitor.com


> ----------
> From:         BettyLou Boysen
> Reply To:     A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State
> history.
> Sent:         Thursday, January 2, 2003 12:49 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Alias, meaning of
>
> Honor:
>     To the best of my knowledge the use of Alias in the mid 17th Century
> and
> prior refers to the use of an assumed name. I am still trying to unravel
> the
> "alias" attachment that I have encountered.
>
> BettyLou
>
>