alen

See also: aleŋ, Alen, ålen, alén, ʔalen, and ален

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse alin, ǫln, from Proto-Germanic *alinō (“elbow, ell”), cognate with English ell, German Elle. Compare also albue (“elbow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈæːln̩]

Noun

alen c (singular definite alenen, plural indefinite alen)

1. (historical) cubit, ell (a unit of length of varying value, in Denmark 62.8 cm (equal to 2 feet) until 1907)

Declension

Declension of alen

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	alen	alenen	alen	alenene
genitive	alens	alenens	alens	alenenes

References

• “alen” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːlən

Noun

alen

1. plural of aal

Finnish

Noun

alen

1. genitive singular of ale

Anagrams

• laen

Occitan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Noun

alen m (plural alens)

1. breath
2. breathing, respiration

Related terms

• alenar

Old English

Verb

alen

1. past participle of alan

Sranan Tongo

Alen

Etymology

From English rain. For the initial vowel, compare alata from English or Dutch rat and aleisi from Dutch rijs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aleŋ/, /alen/, [a̠lɪ̞̃ŋ], [ɑ̟le̝ŋ]

Noun

alen

1. rain
   • 1783, C. L. Schumann, “areen-tem”, in Neger-Englisches Wörterbuch [Negro English Dictionary]‎^[1], archived from the original on 8 February 2023:

     hutem da biggi areen sa setti?

     [Oten a bigi alen sa seti?]

     When will the rainy season start?

     (literally, “When will be big rain be in place?”)

   • 1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis‎^[2], Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

     Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

     Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come

Related terms

• alenbo
• alenwatra
• alenten
• alendyakti

Swedish

Noun

alen

1. definite singular of al
2. definite singular of ale
3. archaic spelling of aln

Anagrams

• Elna, Lena, lena