Aligning

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Placing or adjusting objects or parts so they are in a straight or proper position
2. Organizing elements so they line up correctly and function as intended
3. Adjusting components to establish proper orientation or alignment with one another

Etymology: "Aligning" is the present participle of "align", so the story belongs to the verb. Its ancestor is the Latin "linea", meaning "line", which grew out of "linum", the word for flax. The link is practical: flax fibres were spun into thread, and a taut thread was the simplest way to make a straight line, so the idea of a line came from a plant used for cloth. The verb came into English through French. Latin "lineare", "to make straight", became Old French "alignier", and Middle French "aligner" carried it onward. English first used "align" in a rather different sense: the Middle English form "alynen" could mean "to copulate", which is a far cry from putting things in a row. The modern meaning of arranging objects or ideas in a straight line only settled in later.

Synonyms: adjusting, arranging, positioning, straightening, coordinating

Antonyms: disaligning, misaligning, disarranging, disorganizing, disturbing