An alias is normally an alternative name someone may use for themselves, often to prevent their true identity from being known.[1] They are often used by criminals as well as for espionage purposes. It can also be an adverb as well as a noun and mean, 'otherwise known as'. In this case it might be used as, "John Smith alias Richard Jones was identified as the suspect".[1] The plural of alias is aliases.
In computing, an alias is an alternative name for a file, address, command, or other item, and can be used to access or find it.[2]
The word 'alias' derives from the Latin, alius.[1] The first known use of 'alias' as a noun dates back to 1605 and as an adverb to some point between 1525-1535.[3]