-al

See also Appendix:Variations of "al"

English

Etymology

From Latin adjective suffix -ālis, or French -el.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əl/

Suffix

-al

1. 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.

   line, lineal

   base, basal

   cranium, cranial

2. Forming nouns, especially of verbal action.

   e.g. rival, proposal, denial

3. (chemistry) the IUPAC nomenclature used in organic chemistry to form names of aldehydes containing the -(CO)H group. It was extracted from the word "aldehyde".

Usage notes

If the root word ends in l, the variant -ar is often used instead. Sometimes both forms are found: linear, lineal. One also sees -ial, as in manorial.

Derived terms

• (of or pertaining to): Category:English words suffixed with -al
• (forming nouns, especially of verbal action.): arousal, arrival, denial, proposal, rival, reversal, removal

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Abenaki

Suffix

-al

1. A suffix used to form the plurals of inanimate words.

   pessimen (“currant”) → pessimenal (“currants”)

   wôbigen (“it is white”) → wôbigenal (“they are white”)

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.
• See the usage notes at -ak.

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Esperanto

Suffix

-al

1. for [...] reason (ending for correlatives of reason)

Derived terms

• kial: for what reason, why
• tial: for that reason, therefore
• ĉial: for every reason
• ial: for any/some reason
• nenial: for no reason
• (nonce) alial: for another reason

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German

Etymology

From Latin -ālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [aːl]

Suffix

-al

1. pertaining to, using; adjectival suffix appended to nouns

Derived terms

• formal

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Hungarian

Etymology

-a- + -l

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɒl/

Suffix

-al

1. Added to a noun to form a verb.

   szárny (“a wing”) → szárnyal (“to soar”)

2. Added to a verb to form a noun (no longer productive in this role).

   von (“to pull”) → vonal (“line”)

Usage notes

• (verbal suffix): Member of the following suffix cluster.

  -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 front vowel words ending in a consonant

  -öl is added to rounded front vowel words ending in a consonant

  -ál is added to some back vowel words ending in a consonant

• (noun suffix) Member of the following suffix cluster:

  -al is added to back vowel words

  -el is added to front vowel words

See also

• Category:Hungarian verbs suffixed with -al
• Category:Hungarian nouns suffixed with -al
• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin -ālis.

Suffix

-al (plural -ales)

1. In adjectives, indicating relation

   cultura (“culture”) → cultural (“cultural”).

2. In nouns, indicating a place where something is grown

   maíz (“corn”) → maizal (“corn field”)

   naranja (“orange”) → naranjal (“orange grove”)

Synonyms

• (indicating a place): -ar

Derived terms

[+] Spanish words suffixed with -al

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Swedish

Suffix

-al

1. -al, of or pertaining to; forming an adjective from a noun

Derived terms

[+] Swedish words suffixed with -al

See also

• -ell
• -ig
• -isk
• -lig
• -sam