awal

See also: 'awal

Aleut

Verb

awal

1. to work

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay awal, from Classical Malay awal (“early”), from Arabic أَوَّل (ʔawwal).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈawal/ [ˈa.wal]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awal
• Syllabification: a‧wal

Noun

awal (plural awal-awal)

1. beginning, start

   Synonyms: mula, wiwit

Derived terms

• awalan
• berawal
• berawalan
• mengawali

Adjective

awal (comparative lebih awal, superlative paling awal)

1. beginning

   saldo awal ― beginning balance

2. (medicine) early

   Synonym: dini

Further reading

• “awal”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Kabyle

Root
w-l (speech)
1 term

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Berber *a-βwal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awal/

Noun

awal m (plural awalen, feminine equivalent tawalt)

1. speech

   Synonyms: lehdur, lhedra, ameslay, lmenṭeq

2. word
3. sentence
4. proverb, saying

   Synonyms: lemtel, tamɛayt

Inflection

Inflection of awal

	singular	plural
free state	awal	awalen
annexed state	wawal	wawalen

References

• Association Culturelle Numidya (2025), “Amawal, dictionnaire kabyle-français en ligne”, in Amawal‎^[1], retrieved 2025
• Dallet, Jean-Marie (1982), Dictionnaire kabyle-français: parler des At Mangellat, Algérie (in French), Paris, France

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic أَوَّل (ʔawwal).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈawal/ [ˈa.wal]
• Hyphenation: a‧wal

Noun

awal (Jawi spelling اول, plural awal-awal or awal²)

1. beginning, commencement, first

   Synonym: mula

Adjective

awal (Jawi spelling اول, comparative lebih awal, superlative paling awal)

1. early

   Synonym: dini (Indonesia)

   Antonym: lewat

Derived terms

• Awal Muharram
• Awal Ramadhan
• awalan
• berawal
• berawalan
• mengawali
• terawal (“earliest”)

Descendants

• > Indonesian: awal (inherited)
• → Tausug: awwal

Further reading

• "awal" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Mokilese

Verb

awal

1. (transitive) to replace something

Derived terms

• awalek

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French aval.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.val/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aval
• Syllabification: a‧wal

Noun

awal m inan

1. (finance, law) aval

Declension

Declension of awal

	singular	plural
nominative	awal	awale
genitive	awalu	awali
dative	awalowi	awalom
accusative	awal	awale
instrumental	awalem	awalami
locative	awalu	awalach
vocative	awalu	awale

Derived terms

noun

• awalista

Further reading

• awal in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Tashelhit

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Berber *a-βwal

Medieval Tashelhit اَوَالْ (awal)

Tashelhit awal

Inherited from Medieval Tashelhit اَوَالْ (awal, “speech”), from Proto-Berber *a-βwal (“speech”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awal/

Noun

awal m (plural iwaliwn, Tifinagh spelling ⴰⵡⴰⵍ, Arabic spelling آوال)

1. speech
2. word

   آوال يغ يغلي د يدمارن، ايغلي س يدرارن.

   awal iɣ iɣli d idmarn, iɣli s idrarn .

   When words leave your chest, they echo off the mountains.

3. language, dialect

   آوال ن سوس اياد. ― awal n sus ayad ― This is the Sous dialect.

4. voice

   اوكزغ آوال ن ڭماك. ― ukzɣ awal n gʷma-k. ― I recognized your brother's voice.

Inflection

Inflection of awal

	singular	plural
free state	awal	iwaliwn
annexed state	wawal	iwaliwn

Derived terms

• awal n imzwura (“proverb”)
• iwaliwn ddrnin (“proverbs, maxims”)
• sawl (“to speak”)
• tigira n wawal (“finally”)

See also

• ils (“tongue, language”)
• tantala (“regional dialect”)
• tirra (“writing”)

References

• Stroomer, Harry (2025), Dictionnaire berbère tachelḥiyt-français — Tome 1 a—e (Handbook of Oriental Studies – Handbuch der Orientalistik; 188/1) (in French), Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, →DOI, →ISBN, page 496a
• Marijn van Putten (2011), Nouns of the CVC and CC type in Berber (Thesis), The Netherlands: Leiden University, page 21

Ternate

Etymology

From Malay awal, from Arabic أَوَّل (ʔawwal).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [aˈwal]

Noun

awal

1. beginning

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tuareg

Noun

awal m

1. language

   مَايَمُوس أَوَال وَتَسَنَد هُولّن؟

   ma yămos awal wa tǝssânăd hullan?

   What is the language that you know a lot?