علی

See also: علي, على, غلى, and غلي

Persian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ʔa.ˈliː/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.líː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.líː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔä.líː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lí]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔæ.líː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lí]

Readings
Classical reading?	alī
Dari reading?	alī
Iranian reading?	ali
Tajik reading?	'ali

Adjective

علی • (alī / ali) (Tajik spelling алӣ)

1. high

Related terms

• علیه (aliyya / aliye)

Proper noun

علی • (alī / ali) (Tajik spelling Алӣ)

1. (Islam) Ali (the Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, considered by Shias to be Muhammad's first successor (imam))
2. a male given name, Ali, from Arabic

Related terms

• عبدالعلی (abdu-l-alī / abdo-l-ali)
• علیقلی (alīqulī / aliġoli)
• غلامعلی (ġulām'alī / ġolâm'ali)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic عَلَى (ʕalā).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ʔa.ˈlaː/, /ʔa.ˈlaj./

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɑː], [ʔä.läj.]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɑː], [ʔä.läj.]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɑː], [ʔä.läj.]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɔː], [ʔä.läj.]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔæ.lɒː], [ʔæ.lej.]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɔ], [ʔä.läj.]

Readings
Classical reading?	alā, alay-
Dari reading?	alā, alay-
Iranian reading?	alâ, aley-
Tajik reading?	'alo, 'alay-

Preposition

Dari	علیـ or علیٰ
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ало or алай-

علیٰ or علیـ • ('alâ or 'aley-)

1. upon, over, on (only used in borrowed Arabic phrases; see related terms below)

Related terms

• بر علیه (bar 'aleyh)
• بناءً علی هٰذا (benâ'an 'alâ hâzâ)
• صلی الله علیه وسلم (sallâ-llâho 'aleyhe va-sallam)
• علی رغم ('alâ raġm-e)
• علیه السلام ('aleyhe-s-salâm)
• علی‌الاتصال ('alâ-l-ettesâl)
• علی‌الاجمال ('alâ-l-ejmâl)
• مَحْکُومٌ عَلَیْه (mahkumon 'aleyh)

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934), “علی”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892), “علىٰ”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul

Urdu

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Classical Persian عَلِی (alī), from Arabic عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)ə.liː/

Proper noun

علی • ('alī) m (Hindi spelling अली)

1. Ali ibn Abi Talib
2. a male given name, Ali, from Arabic

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Classical Persian عَلَیٰ (alā), from Arabic عَلَى (ʕalā).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)ə.lɑː/, /(ʔ)ə.ləj/

Preposition

عَلیٰ or عَلَیـ • ('alā or 'alay-)

1. upon, over, on (only used in borrowed Arabic phrases; see related terms below)

Related terms

• صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم (sallā-llāhu 'alayhi wa-sallam)
• علیٰ الاتصال ('alā-l-ittisāl)
• علیٰ الاجمال ('alā-l-ijmāl)
• علیٰ الاستمرار ('alā-l-istimrār)
• علیٰ التواتر ('alā-t-tawātur)
• علیٰ التوکل ('alā-t-tawakkul)
• علیٰ الحساب ('alā-l-hisāb)
• علیٰ السحر ('alā-s-sahar)
• علیٰ الصباح ('alā-s-sabāh)
• علیہ السلام ('alayhi-s-salām)
• علیہم ('alayhim)
• علیہما ('alayhumā)

Further reading

• “علی”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• Platts, John T. (1884), “علی”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.