هل

See also: ہل

Arabic

Etymology

Univerbation of هَـ (ha-, now interrogative أَ (ʔa)) +‎ لـ (l-, affirmative particle, found as لَـ (la-, “truly”) and the exhortative لِـ (li-) the vowel of which disappears between فَـ (fa-) or وَ (wa) and a following verb).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hal/

Particle

هَلْ • (hal)

1. Interrogative particle that is added to the beginning of a declarative sentence to change it into a yes-or-no question.

   هَلْ تَتَكَلَّمُ ٱلإِنْجْلِيزِيَّةَ؟

   hal tatakallamu l-ʾinglīziyyata?

   Do you speak English?

   هَلْ فَتَحْتَ ٱلشُّبَّاكَ؟

   hal fataḥta š-šubbāka?

   Did you open the window?

   هَلِ ٱلْوَلَدُ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ؟

   hali l-waladu fī l-madrasati?

   Is the boy at school?

   هَلْ أَنْتَ مِصْرِيٌّ؟

   hal ʔanta miṣriyyun?

   Are you Egyptian?

See also

• أَ (ʔa)

References

• Tropper, Josef (2003) “Sekundäres wortanlautendes Alif im Arabischen”, in Kogan, Leonid, editor, Studia Semitica (Orientalia: Papers of the Oriental Institute; III), Moscow, →ISBN, pages 200–201

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Persian

Alternative forms

• هیل (hil)

Etymology 1

From earlier هیل (hil), ultimately from Sanskrit एला (elā), borrowed from Proto-Dravidian *ēla.

Noun

هل • (hel)

1. cardamom

Borrowed terms

• Arabic: هَيْل (hayl), هال (hāl)
• Middle Armenian: հէլ (hēl), հիլ (hil)
  • Armenian: հիլ (hil)
• Azerbaijani: Һил (hil)
• Bashkardi:

  Minābi: هیل (hil), هل (hel)

• Georgian: ილი (ili)
• Hebrew: הֵל (hel)
• Pashto: هیل (hale)

References

• Hūšang Aʿlam (December 15, 1990), "Cardamom", Encyclopædia Iranica

Etymology 2

From Middle Persian ʾwl (ul, “up(wards)”).

Noun

هل • (hol)

1. push, shove

Derived terms

• هل دادن (hol dâdan)

Etymology 3

Verb

1. present stem of هلیدن
2. present stem of هشتن