*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of al-

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Middle English al- English al- From Middle English al-, fro

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
prefix

Alternative form of all-.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Middle English al- English al- From Middle English al-, from Old English eal-, eall- (“all-”). More at all.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentional-enm
  • Inherited-form mentioneal-ang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:al-<ety:inh<ang:æl->>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?\nProto-Indo-European *h₂elnós\nProto-Germanic *allaz\nProto-Germanic *ala-\nProto-West Germanic *ala-\nOld English æl-\nMiddle English al-\nEnglish al-\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"all\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂el-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂elnós\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*allaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ala-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ala-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"æl-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"al-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"al-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"al-\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "al-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English al-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "eal-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English eal-"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:al-<ety:inh<ang:æl->>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?\nProto-Indo-European *h₂elnós\nProto-Germanic *allaz\nProto-Germanic *ala-\nProto-West Germanic *ala-\nOld English æl-\nMiddle English al-\nEnglish al-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂el-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-#Proto-Indo-European:_all"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂elnós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂elnós"
    ],
    [
      "*allaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/allaz"
    ],
    [
      "*ala-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ala-"
    ],
    [
      "*ala-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ala-"
    ],
    [
      "æl-",
      "æl-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "al-",
      "al-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "al-",
      "al-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eal-",
      "eal-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "eall-",
      "eall-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "all",
      "all#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of all-."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "8dcf21e31f2bc3f21c32e9a66edd5f88b22dfeef1541799d4fb1491481416946",
      "rawRecordSha256": "43b552040d224d762c0a3fc8d13cf08db3a85c66667fa6e99073dcc019d1a1c2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 786751
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
prefix

Alternative form of ad- (“to, toward”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Assimilated form of ad- before l. From Latin ad-.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionad-la
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ad-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ad-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ad-",
      "ad-#English"
    ],
    [
      "ad-",
      "ad-#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of ad- (“to, toward”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "04cff4685396721ac1e958790fe7b3ef81e1c877f3e3b10598560b56eeaa8498",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f98f12ecffeef325d3134651f76ec35307647be24fb022a2ed34dd585326a800",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 786752
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for al- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWwt