आलू

See also: आलु

Hindi

Pronunciation

• (Standard Hindi) IPA^(key): /ɑː.luː/, [äː.luː]

Etymology 1

आलू

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀆𑀮𑀼𑀕 (āluga), from Sanskrit आलुक (āluka, “elephant foot yam”). Doublet of आलु (ālu) and आलुक (āluk). The word began to be used in the sense "potato" after the importation of potatoes to South Asia from the Americas by Europeans, displacing cultivation of the similar elephant foot yam.

Noun

आलू • (ālū) m (Urdu spelling آلو)

1. potato
2. (archaic) elephant foot yam

Declension

Declension of आलू (masc ū-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	आलू ālū	आलू ālū
oblique	आलू ālū	आलुओं āluõ
vocative	आलू ālū	आलुओ āluo

Descendants

• → English: aloo
• → Burmese: အာလူး (alu:)
  • → S'gaw Karen: အၣ်လူ (ʼà loo)
  • → Shan: ဢႃႇလူး (ʼàa lúu)
• → Guyanese Creole English: aloo

See also

• कन्द (kand)
• जमीकन्द (jamīkand)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Classical Persian آلو (ālū).

Noun

आलू • (ālū) m (Urdu spelling آلو)

1. plum; prune

Declension

Declension of आलू (masc ū-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	आलू ālū	आलू ālū
oblique	आलू ālū	आलुओं āluõ
vocative	आलू ālū	आलुओ āluo

Derived terms

• आलू-बुख़ारा (ālū-buxārā)

References

• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “ālu”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press
• Bahri, Hardev (1989), “आलू”, in Siksarthi Hindi-Angrejhi Sabdakosa [Learners' Hindi-English Dictionary], Delhi: Rajpal & Sons.
• Dāsa, Śyāmasundara (1965–1975), “आलू”, in Hindī Śabdasāgara [lit. “Sea of Hindi words”] (in Hindi), Kashi [Varanasi]: Nagari Pracarini Sabha
• Platts, John T. (1884), “आलू”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “आलू”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press

Marwari

Etymology

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀆𑀮𑀼𑀕 (āluga), from Sanskrit आलुक (āluka).

Noun

आलू (ālū) m

1. potato

Further reading

• “आलू”, in राजस्थानी सबदकोस [rājasthānī sabadkos], charans.org, 2026