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mesalliance

 - 3 dictionary results

mé⋅sal⋅li⋅ance

  [mey-zuh-lahy-uhns, mey-zal-ee-uhns; Fr. mey-zal-yahns]
–noun, plural mé⋅sal⋅li⋅anc⋅es  [mey-zuh-lahy-uhn-siz, mey-zal-ee-uhn-siz; Fr. mey-zal-yahns] .
a marriage with someone who is considered socially inferior; misalliance.
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Origin:
1775–85; < F; see mis-, alliance
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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mé·sal·li·ance   (mā-zāl'ē-əns, mā'zā-lyäɴs')   
n.  A marriage with a person of inferior social position.

[French : més-, bad (from Old French mes-; see mis-1) + alliance, alliance (from Old French aliance; see alliance).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mesalliance 
"marriage with a person of lower social position," 1782, from Fr. mésalliance, from pejorative prefix mes- (from L. mis-) + alliance.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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