1. [n]  a name that has been assumed temporarily
2. [adv]  as known or named at another time or place; "Mr. Smith, alias Mr. Lafayette"

ALIAS is a 5 letter word that starts with A.

1. \A"li*as\, adv. [L., fr. alius. See {Else}.] (Law)
   (a) Otherwise; otherwise called; -- a term used in legal
       proceedings to connect the different names of any one who
       has gone by two or more, and whose true name is for any
       cause doubtful; as, Smith, alias Simpson.
   (b) At another time.
   
   

2. \A"li*as\, n.; pl. {Aliases}. [L., otherwise, at another
   time.] (Law)
   (a) A second or further writ which is issued after a first
       writ has expired without effect.
   (b) Another name; an assumed name.
   
   

1. algorithmic assembly language

2. 1. A name, usually short and easy to remember and type, that is translated into another name or string, usually long and difficult to remember or type. Most command interpreters (e.g. unix's csh) allow the user to define aliases for commands, e.g. "alias l ls -al". These are loaded into memory when the interpreter starts and are expanded without needing to refer to any file.

   2. One of several alternative hostnames with the same internet address. E.g. in the unix hosts database (/etc/hosts or nis map) the first field on a line is the internet address, the next is the official hostname (the "canonical name" or "cname"), and any others are aliases.

   Hostname aliases often indicate that the host with that alias provides a particular network service such as archie, finger, ftp, or world-wide web. The assignment of services to computers can then be changed simply by moving an alias (e.g. www.doc.ic.ac.uk) from one internet address to another, without the clients needing to be aware of the change.

   3. The name used by apple computer, inc. for symbolic links when they added them to the system 7 operating system in 1991.