val

See also: Appendix:Variations of "val"

Languages (34)

Translingual • English

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

val

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Vehes.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Vehes terms

English

Etymology

Shortening of Valium.

Noun

val (countable and uncountable, plural vals)

1. (informal) Valium.
   • 1997 May 29, Kate Sholl, “Re: MED: Pain relief in Neck?”, in alt.med.fibromyalgia‎^[2] (Usenet):

     and i must be on that list of people that need to get knocked over with a hammer 'cause vicodin and val don't knock me out.

   • 1998 December 29, rob [username], “Re: Depression and MS(leg/feet burning pain)”, in alt.support.mult-sclerosis‎^[3] (Usenet):

     I would think though that whatever the reason for a panic attack valium would be great. I know that if my house was on fire and I was on 15mg of val It^[sic] would take a lot more energy than I had, to panic. ;^)

   • 2002 June 28, FllSpdAhd1 [username], “Re: Valium?”, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav‎^[4] (Usenet):

     I'm a medic and phenobarb is the primary drug for true seizures, but the OP states the cat presents seizure like behavior at the sound of her voice. I don't know where any of you are from, but we don't treat seizures with val.

Anagrams

• AVL, LAV, Vla., lav

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch vallen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fal/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

val (present val, present participle vallende, past participle geval)

1. to fall

Albanian

Etymology 1

Likely borrowed from Latin vallis. The term may be an example of an ancient borrowing that later fell out of use. Its presence is minimal but scattered both in Southern and Northern Albanian toponyms.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈval/
• Rhymes: -al

Noun

val m (definite vali) (chiefly uncountable, regional)

1. valley

   Synonyms: luginë, lug

2. scree

   Synonyms: valishtë, rrëgallë

3. mountain pass

   Synonym: qafë

4. summer pasture, shieling

Derived terms

• i pasun mal e val

Toponyms

• Val
• Valbonë

References

• FMGJSH (2026), “val,~i”
• Topalli (2017), page 1542ab: “val”
• Çabej SE, vol. 7, pages 221f.: “val”
• Gazulli (1942), page 248: “mal e val”

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sicilian vagliu, vagghiu.

Alternative forms

• baj — Sicily

Noun

val m (plural vale, definite vali) (dialectal, Calabria)

1. courtyard

   Synonym: (standard) oborr

References

• Giordano (1963), page 526a: “vál-i”
• Kamsi (2000), page 295a: “valj-i”

Etymology 3

Noun

val m (definite vali) (dialectal, Calabria, San Marzano, Mandrica)

1. alternative form of vaj (“olive oil”)

   Këta val ë të vjetër. (Frascineto)

   This olive oil is old.

References

• Giordano (1963), page 526a: “vàl-i”
• Gallo (2017), page 155a: “valë/i”
• Kamsi (2000), page 295a: “valj-i”
• Shuteriqi (1965), page 169: “val-i”

Aragonese

Alternative forms

• vache (Tensino Panticuto), vall (Benasquese)

Etymology

From Latin valles.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbal/
• Syllabification: val
• Rhymes: -al

Noun

val f (plural vals)

1. valley

References

• “valle”, in Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈval]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al

Etymology 1

Noun

val m (plural vals)

1. voucher

Etymology 2

Verb

val

1. inflection of valer:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative
2. inflection of valdre:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Interjection

val

1. okay

Further reading

• “val” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “val”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “val”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Czech

Etymology

Derived from Middle High German wal, from Latin vallum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈval]
• Rhymes: -al

Noun

val m inan

1. bulwark, rampart

Declension

Declension of val (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	val	valy
genitive	valu	valů
dative	valu	valům
accusative	val	valy
vocative	vale	valy
locative	valu	valech
instrumental	valem	valy

Further reading

• “val”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “val”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “val”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse valr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːl/, [ˈʋæˀl]
• Homophone: hval

Noun

val c (singular definite valen, not used in plural form)

1. (poetic) battlefield

References

• “val” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “Val,1” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle Low German wal or Dutch wal (“coast, shore”), from Latin vallum. Doublet of vold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvalˀ/, [ˈʋalˀ]
• Homophone: valg

Noun

val c (singular definite vallen, not used in plural form)

1. (obsolete) steep coastline
   • 1779, Johannes Ewald, Romance (from the play Fiskerne), now royal anthem of Denmark / https://kalliope.org/da/text/ewlad1999022205:

     Fra Vallen hørtes Vraal, som brød | Den tykke Skye.

     From the coast a cry was heard that broke the thick cloud.

References

• “Val,2” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Etymology 3

From Old Norse vǫllr, from Proto-Germanic *walþuz (“forest”), cognate with German Wald. Doublet of vold. Alternatively, the same word as the noun above.

Noun

val c (singular definite vallen, not used in plural form)

1. (obsolete) plain
   • 1812, N.F.S. Grundtvig, Til Danerkongen Frederik hin Sjette (in: Poetiske Skrifter, vol. 3, p. 2):

     Paa faste Val og paa den grønne Strand, | At ofre villig baade Liv og Blod.

     On the firm plain and the green beach to sacrifice both life and blood.

References

• “Val,3” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɑl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: val
• Rhymes: -ɑl
• Homophone: Val

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch val, from Old Dutch *fal, from Proto-West Germanic *fall, from Proto-Germanic *fallaz. Equivalent to a deverbal from vallen (“to fall”).

Noun

val m (plural vallen, diminutive valletje n)

1. a fall (act or event of falling)
2. a downfall, demise

   Synonym: ondergang

Derived terms

• avondval
• bouwval
• kabinetsval
• knieval
• maatval
• naamval
• nachtval
• regenval
• rijmval
• sneeuwval
• toonval
• valavond
• valkuil
• valstrik
• valuur
• verzenval
• waterval
• zondeval

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch valle, from Old Dutch falla, ultimately from the root of vallen (“to fall”), thus related to Etymology 1 above.

Noun

val f (plural vallen, diminutive valletje n)

1. a physical trap, snare
2. any trap, ploy

Derived terms

• berenval
• geurval
• muizenval

Etymology 3

Related to Etymology 1 above.

Noun

val n (plural vallen, diminutive valletje n)

1. (nautical) halyard

   Synonym: vlaggenlijn

Derived terms

• fokkeval
• grootzeilval
• hijsval
• klauwval
• piekeval
• spinnakerval
• strijkval

Descendants

• →? Danish: fald (or from Low German)
• Norwegian:
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: fall
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: fall
• →? Swedish: fall (or from Low German)
  • → Finnish: falli
• → Lithuanian: falas
• → Latvian: falle
• → Polish: fał
• → Russian: ва́л (vál)
  • → Ukrainian: ва́л (vál)
  • → Azerbaijani: fal
• → Bulgarian: фал (fal)

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Probably of the same origin as walvis (“whale”), being the largest land fish.

Noun

val m (plural vallen, diminutive valletje n)

1. (obsolete) a catfish

   Synonym: meerval

2. any of its relatives in the family Siluridae

Derived terms

• meerval
• pantserval
• sidderval
• slangval
• vinval

Etymology 5

From Sanskrit वल्ल (valla), a word used for various grains and pulses, or for a unit of weight equal to 3 रक्तिका (raktikā). The explanation of latter meaning is that the रक्तिका (raktikā) is named after the seeds of Abrus precatorius, of which there are often 3 in a pod.

Noun

val m (plural vals, diminutive valletje n)

1. (obsolete) an East Indian weight for silver and gold.
   • 1682, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, De zes reizen van den Heer J. Bapt. Tavernier, die hij, gedurende de tyt van veertig jaren, in Turkyen, Persiën, en in d'Indiën, langs alle de wegen, die derwaarts strekken, gedaan heeft [The six voyages of Lord J. Bapt. Tavernier, which he made during the period of forty years, in Turkey, Persia, and in the Indies, along all the roads leading thither], Amsterdam: Weduwe Johannes van Someren, page 12:

     Wat de Spaansche Reaal aangaat / die drieënzeventig Vals weegt / men heeft 'er vier Mamoudiën en een halve voor / en een Mamoudi geld twintig Pechas; en in dezer voegen heeft men voor de Spaansche Reaal tnegentig [sic] Pechas: maar zij moeten / gelijk ik gezegt heb / goed zijn / en drieenzeventig Vals wegen.

     As for the Spanish real, which weighs seventy-three vals, one gets four and a half mahmudi for it, and a mahmudi is worth twenty paisa; and in this way one has ninety paisa for the Spanish real: but they should, as I was saying, be good, and weigh seventy-three vals.

Etymology 6

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

val

1. inflection of vallen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Anagrams

• vla

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse val (“choice”) (see the verb velja (“to choose”)), from Proto-Germanic *walą.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛaːl

Noun

val n (genitive singular vals, plural val)

1. choice

   Eg hevði einki val. ― I had no choice.

2. (politics) election

   Í dag er val í Norðurkorea, og tað gongur fyri seg upp á ein heilt serligan hátt. ― Today there is an election in North Korea, and it is happening in a very special way.

3. quality

Declension

n3	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	val	valið	val	valini
accusative	val	valið	val	valini
dative	vali	valinum	valum	valunum
genitive	vals	valsins	vala	valanna

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French val, from Latin vallem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /val/

Noun

val m (plural vaux / vals)

1. (literary) valley, vale

Derived terms

• par monts et par vaux
• Val d'Aoste
• Val de Loire
• vallée
• vallon

Related terms

• à vau-l’eau

See also

• VAL

Further reading

• “val”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin vallis, vallem.

Noun

val f (plural valis)

1. valley

Synonyms

• valdade

Galician

Etymology

13th century. From Old Galician-Portuguese vale, from Latin vallis, vallem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbal/ [ˈbɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al

Noun

val m (plural vales)

1. valley
   • c1350, Kevin M. Parker (ed.), Historia Troyana. Santiago: Instituto Padre Sarmiento, page 122:

     Et ao ferir, braadarõ et deron tan grãdes vozes que os vales rretenyam.

     As they clashed, they shouted and cried so aloud that the valleys resounded.

Derived terms

• Balboa
• Doval
• Val
• Valboa
• Valbón
• Valcovo
• Vales
• Valía
• Valilongo
• Valín
• Valiña
• valiña
• Valiñaxemia
• Valiño
• Valmaior
• Valonga
• Valongo
• Valouta
• Valquente
• Valverde
• Varalongo
• Varilongo

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “vale”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “vale”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “val”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “val”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “val”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse val (“choice”) (see the verb velja (“to choose”)), from Proto-Germanic *walą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

Noun

val n (genitive singular vals, nominative plural völ)

1. choice
2. selection

Declension

Declension of val (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	val	valið	völ	völin
accusative	val	valið	völ	völin
dative	vali	valinu	völum	völunum
genitive	vals	valsins	vala	valanna

Derived terms

• náttúruval
• kynbundið val

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈval/
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: vàl

Noun

val f (apocopated)

1. apocopic form of valle

Verb

val

1. apocopic form of vale

Anagrams

• Vla.

Livonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɑˀl/, [ˈvɑˀl]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *valo, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *waĺɜ. Cognates include Finnish valo.

Noun

va’l

1. light

Declension

Declension of va’l (76)

	singular (ikšlu’g)	plural (pǟgiņlu’g)
nominative (nominatīv)	va’l	valūd
genitive (genitīv)	va’l	valūd
partitive (partitīv)	va’llõ	valīdi
dative (datīv)	va’llõn	valūdõn
instrumental (instrumentāl)	va’lkõks	valūdõks
illative (illatīv)	va’llõ	valīž
inessive (inesīv)	va’lsõ	valīs
elative (elatīv)	va’lstõ	valīst

Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *valo, probably borrowed from Proto-Germanic *kwalō.

Noun

va’l

1. pain, ache

Declension

Declension of va’l (76)

	singular (ikšlu’g)	plural (pǟgiņlu’g)
nominative (nominatīv)	va’l	valūd
genitive (genitīv)	va’l	valūd
partitive (partitīv)	va’llõ	valīdi
dative (datīv)	va’llõn	valūdõn
instrumental (instrumentāl)	va’lkõks	valūdõks
illative (illatīv)	va’llõ	valīž
inessive (inesīv)	va’lsõ	valīs
elative (elatīv)	va’lstõ	valīst

References

• Tiit-Rein Viitso; Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), “va’l”, in Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[5] (in Estonian and Latvian), Tartu, Rīga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German val.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈval/, /ˈfal/

Noun

val m

1. fall
2. (grammar) case
   • 14th century, Heinrich von Mügeln, Der meide krancz (Codex Palatinus germanicus (Cod. Pal. germ.) 14)

     Wÿ man dy namen brechen ſol
     Nach iren vellen hin czu cal
     [the following verses contain a declension of Petrus (genitive Petri, dative Petro, accusative Petrum, vocative Petre and ablative Petro)]

     How one shall inflect/decline (literally break) the nouns
     After their cases over to number

Declension

Declension of val (strong masculine with umlaut)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	val	die	velle
genitive	eines	dës	valles	dër	velle
dative	eime	dëm	valle	dën	vellen
accusative	einen	dën	val	die	velle

Related terms

• vallen

Descendants

• German: Fall

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse vaðill (“ford, shallow water”).

Noun

val m (definite singular valen, indefinite plural valer, definite plural valene)

1. inlet, shallow bay

Etymology 2

From Old Norse valr (“the fallen”).

Noun

val m (definite singular valen, indefinite plural valer, definite plural valene)

1. (poetic) battlefield

Etymology 3

From Old Norse val.

Noun

val n

1. form removed with the spelling reform of 1959; superseded by valg

References

• “val” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːl/, /vaːɽ/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse val, from Proto-Germanic *walą.

Noun

val n (definite singular valet, indefinite plural val, definite plural vala)

1. choice

   Du har ikkje noko val.

   You don't have a choice.

2. election

   Synonym: røysting

   Kven skal du røysta på til valet?

   Who are you going to vote for in the election?

Derived terms

• utval
• valkamp

Etymology 2

From Old Norse valr, from Proto-Germanic *walaz.

Noun

val m (definite singular valen, uncountable)

1. the slain (in battle)

Derived terms

• Valgrind
• Valhall
• valkyrje
• valplass (“battle ground”)

References

• “val” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Alternative forms

• vath (Gascony)
• vau (Provençal)

Etymology

From Latin vallis.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Noun

val f (plural vals)

1. valley

Old French

Alternative forms

• vaul

Etymology

From Latin vallis, vallem.

Noun

val oblique singular, m (oblique plural vaus or vax or vals, nominative singular vaus or vax or vals, nominative plural val)

1. valley

Descendants

• → English: vale
• French: val

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *fall, from Proto-Germanic *fallaz.

Noun

val m

1. fall

Descendants

• Middle High German: val
  • German: Fall

Old Norse

Noun

val

1. accusative singular of valr

Piedmontese

Etymology

From Latin vallis, vallem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /val/

Noun

val f (plural vaj)

1. valley

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈvaw/ [ˈvaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈval/ [ˈvaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈval/ [ˈvaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbal/ [ˈbaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈva.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Homophones: vale (Portugal), vau (Brazil)
• Hyphenation: val

Noun

val m (plural vales)

1. apocopic form of vale (“valley”)

Further reading

• “val”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “val”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic валъ (valŭ), from Proto-Slavic *valъ. Compare Serbo-Croatian val; close to Albanian valë.

Noun

val n (plural valuri)

1. wave

   Synonym: undă

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	val	valul		valuri	valurile
genitive-dative	val	valului		valuri	valurilor
vocative	valule			valurilor

Derived terms

• învălura
• învălui
• vălări

Related terms

• năvăli
• prăvăli
• valmă

Etymology 2

From Latin vallum (“wall, rampart”), probably a later borrowing; cf. German Wall, Italian vallo, also English wall.

Noun

val n (plural valuri)

1. earth rampart which served in antiquity as a military stronghold

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	val	valul		valuri	valurile
genitive-dative	val	valului		valuri	valurilor
vocative	valule			valurilor

See also

• văl

Romansh

Etymology

From Latin vallis, vallem.

Noun

val f (plural vals)

1. valley

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *valъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋâːl/

Noun

vȃl m inan (Cyrillic spelling ва̑л)

1. (regional, Croatia) wave (a long body of water curling into an arched form)

   Synonym: tȁlās

Declension

Declension of val

	singular	plural
nominative	val	valovi
genitive	vala	valova
dative	valu	valovima
accusative	val	valove
vocative	vale	valovi
locative	valu	valovima
instrumental	valom	valovima

Slovak

Etymology

Derived from Middle High German wal, from Latin vallum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /val/, [ˈʋal]
• Rhymes: -al

Noun

val m inan (relational adjective valový)

1. bulwark, rampart

Declension

Declension of val
(pattern dub)

	singular	plural
nominative	val	valy
genitive	valu	valov
dative	valu	valom
accusative	val	valy
locative	vale	valoch
instrumental	valom	valmi

Further reading

• “val”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *valъ. First attested in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋáːl/

Noun

vȃl m inan

1. wave, undulation

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem, plural in -ôv-
nom. sing.	vál
gen. sing.	vála
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	vál	valôva	valôvi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	vála	valôv	valôv
dative (dajȃlnik)	válu	valôvoma	valôvom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	vál	valôva	valôve
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	válu	valôvih	valôvih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	válom	valôvoma	valôvi

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	vál
gen. sing.	vála
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	vál	vála	váli
genitive (rodȋlnik)	vála	válov	válov
dative (dajȃlnik)	válu	váloma	válom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	vál	vála	vále
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	válu	válih	válih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	válom	váloma	váli

Derived terms

• valováti
• valovéti
• valovíti
• valôven

Further reading

• “val”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbal/ [ˈbal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: val

Etymology 1

Noun

val m (plural valles)

1. apocopic form of valle: valley

Derived terms

• Valparaíso

Etymology 2

Verb

val

1. apocopic form of vale: is worth

   mi casa y mi hogar cien doblas val. (val rhymes with hogar, assonant rhyme)

   there's no place like home.

Usage notes

• In Old Spanish, after the consonants /d/, /n/, /l/, /ʎ/, /ɾ/ and /θ/, a final /e/ was regularly elided, as in pid, vien, val, quier, faz, versus the modern forms of pide, viene, vale, quiere, and hace, with -e restored by analogy (compare modern Portuguese, which still has apocope in words such as vem (“he/she comes”), quer (“he/she wants”), faz (“he/she does”)). In modern Spanish, a few apocopes following coronal consonants are still preserved: buen, gran, san, derived from bueno, grande, and santo.

Further reading

• “val”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɑːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish hval, from Old Norse hvalr, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos (“sheatfish”).

en val (knölval) [a whale (humpback whale)] (etymology 1 sense 1)

Noun

val c

2. a whale

   Blåvalen är den största valen och det största djuret överhuvudtaget

   The blue whale is the largest whale [double definiteness – see the usage notes for den] and the largest animal in general

Declension

Declension of val

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	val	vals
	definite	valen	valens
plural	indefinite	valar	valars
	definite	valarna	valarnas

Derived terms

• blåval
• grindval
• grönlandsval
• kaskelottval
• kaskelotval
• knölval
• pottval
• sillval
• valdjur
• valfisk
• valfångst
• valhaj
• valkokeri
• valolja
• valrav
• valsång
• vitval

See also

• blåshål (“blowhole”)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse val (related to the verb velja (“to choose”)), from Proto-Germanic *walą. Related to välja, vilja (English will).

ett val [an election] (etymology 2 sense 2)

Noun

val n

1. a choice

   Har du gjort ditt val?

   Have you made your choice?

   Du har inget val

   You have no choice

   ett svårt val

   a difficult choice

   ett medvetet val

   a conscious/deliberate choice

3. an election

   att hålla ett val

   to hold an election

   att hålla val

   to hold elections / an election [as an activity]

   (literally, “to hold election [Could also be interpreted as "elections" for the plural case here, since the plural is identical]”)

   "To <verb> <singular noun>" is a recurring pattern for activities. Compare hopprep (“jump/skipping rope”), where English has a similar pattern "jump/skip rope," studsboll (“bouncy ball”), gungbräda (“seesaw”), drake (“kite”), and bada (“bathe; swim”).

Declension

Declension of val

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	val	vals
	definite	valet	valets
plural	indefinite	val	vals
	definite	valen	valens

Derived terms

• allmänt val
• andrahandsval
• behandlingsval
• delstatsval
• Europaparlamentsval
• extra val
• felval
• flerpartival
• flervalsuppgift
• fyllnadsval
• förbundsdagsval
• förstahandsval
• förstaval
• förval
• kommunalval
• kongressval
• kyrkoval
• livsval
• lokalval
• nyval
• omval
• ordval
• parlamentsval
• personval
• presidentval
• primärval
• provval
• regionval
• riksdagsval
• urval
• valaffisch
• valallians
• valanalys
• valbarometer
• valberedning
• valboskap
• valbroschyr
• valbudskap
• valbås
• valdag
• valdebatt
• valdeltagande
• valdistrikt
• valfläsk
• valfri
• valfrihet
• valfusk
• valhemlighet
• valkampanj
• valkrets
• vallokal
• vallöfte
• valmyndighet
• valmöjlighet
• valnatt
• valnämnd
• valobservatör
• valresultat
• valsedel
• valstuga
• valurna
• valvaka
• valår
• valövervakare
• valövervakning
• vara i valet och kvalet
• vägval

Etymology 3

From Old Norse valr (“the slain, the fallen”), from Proto-Germanic *walaz (“corpse, body; carnage”).

Noun

val c

1. (obsolete) the fallen; casualties of a war or battle

Declension

Declension of val

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	val	vals
	definite	valen	valens
plural	indefinite	valar	valars
	definite	valarna	valarnas

See also

• valplats

References

• val in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• val in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• val in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• alv, lav

Tungag

Preposition

val

1. like, similar to

Venetan

Etymology

From Latin vallis, vallem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /val/
• Hyphenation: vàl

Noun

val f (plural val)

1. valley

Synonyms

• vałe