al

¹ American  

[ahl] / ɑl /

noun

1. Indian mulberry.

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Al ² American  

[al] / æl /

noun

1. a first name, form of Albert, Alfred, Aloysius.

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Al ³ American  

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. aluminum.

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AL ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Alabama (approved especially for use with zip code).

2. Anglo-Latin.

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al- ⁵ American  

1. variant of ad- before l: allure.

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-al ⁶ American  

1. a suffix with the general sense “of the kind of, pertaining to, having the form or character of” that named by the stem, occurring in loanwords from Latin (autumnal; natural; pastoral ), and productive in English on the Latin model, usually with bases of Latin origin (accidental; seasonal; tribal ). Originally, -al1 was restricted to stems not containing an -l- (-ar ); recent lapses in this rule have produced semantically distinct pairs, as familiar and familial.

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-al ⁷ American  

1. a suffix forming nouns from verbs, usually verbs of French or Latin origin.

   denial; refusal.

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-al ⁸ American  

1. Chemistry. a suffix indicating that a compound contains an aldehyde group.

   chloral.

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Al- ⁹ American  

1. a word in Arabic names meaning “family” or “the house of ”.

   Al-Saud, or the members of the house of Saud.

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al. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. other things.

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al. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

1. other persons.

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AL. ¹² American  

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Latin.

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a.l. ¹³ American  

abbreviation

1. autograph letter.

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A.L. ¹⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Baseball. American League.

2. American Legion.

3. Anglo-Latin.

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AL ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Alabama

2. Anglo-Latin

3. (in the US and Canada) American League (of baseball teams)

4. Albania (international car registration)

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-al ² British  

suffix

1. indicating an aldehyde

   ethanal

2. indicating a pharmaceutical product

   phenobarbital

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-al ³ British  

suffix

1. of; related to; connected with

   functional

   sectional

   tonal

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-al ⁴ British  

suffix

1. the act or process of doing what is indicated by the verb stem

   rebuttal

   recital

   renewal

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Al ⁵ British  

symbol

1. aluminium

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al ⁶ British  

abbreviation

1. Albania

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Etymology

Origin of al¹

From the Hindi word āl

Origin of -al⁶

< Latin ālis, -āle; often replacing Middle English -el < Old French

Origin of -al⁷

< Latin -āle (singular), -ālia (plural), nominalized neuter of -ālis -al ¹; often replacing Middle English -aille < Old French < Latin -ālia

Origin of -al⁸

Presumed to be short for aldehyde

Origin of Al-⁹

From the Arabic word āl family

Origin of al.¹⁰

From the Latin word alia

Origin of al.¹¹

From the Latin word aliī

Example Sentences

The dry-aged grilled branzino was flaky and beautifully cooked, but the standout was the chicken al pastor, served with a fresh pineapple salad and pineapple butter—bright, savory, and just a little indulgent.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

Uganda has long been seen as a solid security partner for the U.S., sending troops to fight al Qaeda’s Somali franchise, al-Shabaab.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

“The return of chicken al pastor was the primary traffic driver, followed by successful promotions and digital growth,” the Mizuho analysts wrote.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

Guillermo Rojas Ortega and Juan Villaseñor went with a carne asada burrito, an al pastor burrito and two tacos de cabeza.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Con el agua al cuello y la marea subiendo.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago