-al
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English -al, from the Latin adjective suffix -ālis, or French, Middle French and Old French -el, -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əl/, [l̩], [ɫ̩]
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Suffix
-al
- Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.
- Forming nouns, especially of verbal action.
Usage notes
If the root word contains l, the variant -ar is often used instead (e.g. solar, lunar, columnar, lumbar), unless the root contains r after the l (lateral, plural). Sometimes both forms are found: linear, lineal. One also sees -ial, as in manorial.
As nominalizer, some verbs have two corresponding nouns, one ending in -al and the other in -tion/-sion (more common suffix), with one or the other being more common, sometimes with different nuances. Notable examples: disposition/disposal (dispose), proposition/proposal (propose), submission/submittal (submit), transmission/transmittal (transmit). Some superficial pairs are actually of different origin, notably reversion/reversal (revert/reverse, not both from reverse).
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 2
Back-formation from aldehyde.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /æl/
Translations
Abenaki
Suffix
-al
- A suffix used to form the plurals of inanimate words.
- pessimen (“currant”) → pessimenal (“currants”)
- wôbigen (“it is white”) → wôbigenal (“they are white”)
Catalan
Suffix
-al m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -als)
- in adjectives, indicating relation
- estructura (“structure”) + -al → estructural (“structural”)
Derived terms
Danish
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑl/
Audio (file)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Suffix
-al
- for [...] reason (ending for correlatives of reason)
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French -al, from Old French -al, borrowed from Latin -ālis. Doublet of -el, which is inherited.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /al/
Audio (file)
Suffix
-al (feminine -ale, masculine plural -aux, feminine plural -ales)
- -al; appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form; often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also
Derived terms
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [aːl]
Audio (file)
Suffix
-al
- pertaining to, using; adjectival suffix appended to nouns
Derived terms
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɒl]
Suffix
-al
Usage notes
- (verb-forming suffix) Variants:
- -l is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-. Final long vowels may shorten, e.g. ű → ü.
- -ol is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -al is added to other back-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -el is added to unrounded (and some rounded) front-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -öl is added to most rounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -ál is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
Note: Certain words take another, synonymous suffix, -z/-oz/-az/-ez/-öz/-áz or -zik/-ozik/-azik/-ezik/-özik.
Derived terms
See also
- Appendix:Hungarian suffixes
K'iche'
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aːl/
Suffix
-al
- Forms nouns from adjectives
- Forms nouns from -aj verb suffix
- mujaj (“to shade”) + -al → mujaj (“shadow”)
- q’ebaj (“to go across”) + -al → q’ebal (“large earthen jar”)
- Forms nouns from adverbs
- Forms nouns from nouns
- k’o’x (“gourd cup”) + -al → k’o’xal (“shell of a dead animal”)
- süb (“tamalito of corn”) + -al → sübal (“pot for making tamales”)
References
- Allen J. Christenson, Kʼiche-English dictionary
Latin
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | -al | -ālia |
Genitive | -ālis | -ālium |
Dative | -ālī | -ālibus |
Accusative | -al | -ālia |
Ablative | -ālī | -ālibus |
Vocative | -al | -ālia |
Derived terms
Lepontic
Malay
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [-əl], [-al]
- Hyphenation: -al
Derived terms
Manx
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
Extracted from goaill.
Suffix
-al f
- suffix used to form verbal nouns
Etymology 2
Extracted from goaill.
Suffix
-al
Etymology 3
From Middle Irish -amail (compare Irish -úil, Scottish Gaelic -ail, -eil), from Old Irish -amail.
Derived terms
See also
Middle English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French -al, -el and its source Latin -ālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-al/, /-aːl/, /-ɛl/, /-ɛːl/
Suffix
-al
- (chiefly not productive) Forms adjectives from Latin and Romance vocabulary.
Derived terms
References
- “-al, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Munsee
Suffix
-al
Usage notes
- -al is the most common suffix used to form the plurals of inanimate words, including most body parts and some words ending in the vowel a.
Norman
Etymology
From Old French -al, from Latin -ālis.
Suffix
-al
- -al (of or pertaining to; adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form)
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
- -all (pre-1917)
Etymology
From Old Norse -all in adjectives like þagall and gamall, from Proto-Germanic *-alaz.
Suffix
-al (neuter -alt, definite singular and plural -ale, comparative -alare, indefinite superlative -alast, definite superlative -alaste)
Derived terms
- blåsal
- brekal
- frostal
- grinal
- gråtal
- hatal (“hateful”)
- heftal
- krakal
- lidal
- vågal
- yppal
Old French
Alternative forms
Suffix
-al
- suffix used to form adjectives from nouns
- mesnal (from mesnee) ― domestic; household
Polish
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-aľь.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /al/
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: al
Declension
Animate/personal:
Inanimate:
Surnames:
Derived terms
Further reading
- -al in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈaw/ [ˈaʊ̯]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈal/ [ˈaɫ]
- (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈa.li/
- Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
Etymology 1
From Old Galician-Portuguese -al, from Latin -ālis.
Suffix
-al m or f (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ais)
- appended to noun X, forms adjectives meaning “of or relating to X”
- forms synonyms of adjectives containing the suffix -ico
Suffix
-al m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ais)
- appended to noun X, forms nouns meaning “a collection X” or “a large quantity of X”
- appended to noun X, forms nouns meaning “a place where there is plenty of X” or "field where a plant is cultivated"
Derived terms
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /al/
Suffix
-al m or n (feminine singular -ală, masculine plural -ali, feminine and neuter plural -ale)
- -al; of or pertaining to, forms adjectives from nouns.
- săptămână (“week”) + -al → săptămânal (“weekly”)
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Spanish
Suffix
-al m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ales)
Suffix
-al m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ales)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “-al”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014