ليل

Arabic

Etymology

From the root ل ي ل‎ (l-y-l). From Proto-Semitic *layl-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lajl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

لَيْل • (layl) m (usually uncountable)

1. nighttime, night

   Antonym: نَهَار‎ (nahār)

2. (countable, obsolete) chick of a bustard (حُبَارَى‎ (ḥubārā)) and/or curlew (كَرَوَان‎ (karawān))
3. (countable, obsolete) bustard hen; bustard in general

Declension

Declension of noun لَيْل (layl)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	لَيْل layl	اللَّيْل‎ al-layl	لَيْل layl
Nominative	لَيْلٌ laylun	اللَّيْلُ‎ al-laylu	لَيْلُ laylu
Accusative	لَيْلًا‎ laylan	اللَّيْلَ‎ al-layla	لَيْلَ layla
Genitive	لَيْلٍ laylin	اللَّيْلِ‎ al-layli	لَيْلِ layli

Derived terms

• لَيْلَ نَهَارَ‎ (layla nahāra)

Related terms

• لَيْلَة‎ (layla)

References

• Wehr, Hans (1979), “ليل”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

Egyptian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic لَيْل‎ (layl).

Noun

ليل • (līl) m (collective, singulative ليلة‎ f (līla), plural ليالي‎ (layālī))

1. nighttime, night

   ‏الدنيا بقيت ليل‎‎ ― id-dinyā baʾyit līl ― Night came.

   ‏الليلة دي‎ ― il-līla dī ― today

Coordinate terms

• نهار‎ (nahār, “daytime”)
• يوم‎ (yūm, “day”)

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology 1

From Arabic لَيْل‎ (layl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈleːl/, [ˈle̞ːl]

Noun

ليل • (lēl) m (collective, singulative ليلة‎ f (lēla), plural ليالي‎ (layāli))

1. nighttime, night

Etymology 2

From French Lille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈliːl/

Proper noun

ليل • (līl) f

1. Lille (a city in France)

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology 1

From Arabic لَيْل‎ (layl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lajl/, /liːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

لَيْل or لِيل • (layl or līl) m (plural ليالي‎ (lyāli))

1. nighttime, night

Derived terms

• ليل ونهار‎ (layl u nhār, līl u nhar, “all day long”)

Related terms

• ليلة‎ (layla, līla)

Etymology 2

From Arabic لِ‎ (li). The final -l may be due to backformation from the personal forms, themselves derived by reduplication. Compare Maltese lil (“to, with”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liːl/

Preposition

ليل • (līl)

1. for

   Synonym: ل‎ (li)

Inflection

Inflected forms of ليل
Base form					ليل (līl)
Personal-pronoun- including forms		singular		plural
		m	f
1st person		ليلي‎ (līli)		ليلنا‎ (līlna)
2nd person		ليلك‎ (līlek)	ليلك‎ (līlki)	ليلكم‎ (līlkum)
3rd person		ليله‎ (līlu)	ليلها‎ (līlha)	ليلهم‎ (līlhum)

South Levantine Arabic

‏القدس في الليل‎ ― Jerusalem at night

Etymology

From Arabic لَيْل‎ (layl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːl/, [leːl]

• Audio (Amman)

  (file)

Noun

ليل • (lēl) m (collective, singulative ليلة‎ f (lēle), plural ليالي‎ (layāli))

1. night, nighttime

   Antonym: نهار‎ (nhār)

   ‏نصّ الليل‎ ― noṣṣ il-lēl ― midnight

   Audio (Ramallah)

   (file)

See also

• (times of day) أوقات اليوم‎ (ʔawʔāt il-yōm); نهار‎ (nhār, “daytime”), فجر‎ (fajr, “dawn”), صبحية‎ (ṣabaḥiyye, “early morning”), صبح‎ (ṣubḥ, “morning”), ضهر‎ (ḍuhr, “noon”), عصر‎ (ʕaṣr, “late afternoon”), مغرب‎ (maḡreb, “sunset”), مسا‎ (masa, “evening”), ليل (lēl, “nighttime”) ^{(Category: ajp:Times of day)}