Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Alias \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.

Alias \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.

Source : WordNet®

alias
     n : a name that has been assumed temporarily [syn: {assumed name},
          {false name}]
     adv : as known or named at another time or place; "Mr. Smith,
           alias Mr. Lafayette" [syn: {a.k.a.}, {also known as}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

ALIAS
     
        {ALgorIthmic ASsembly language}

alias
     
        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.
     
        (1997-10-22)