Jump to:

• al
  al

  noun

  Indian mulberry.
• Al
  Al

  noun

  a first name, form of Albert, Alfred, Aloysius.
• AL
  AL

  abbreviation

  Alabama (approved especially for use with zip code).
• al-
  al-

  variant of ad- before l: allure.
• -al
  -al

  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- (cf. -ar); recent lapses in this rule have produced semantically distinct pairs, as familiar and familial.
• Al-
  Al-

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

  abbreviation

  other things.
• AL.
  AL.

  abbreviation

  Anglo-Latin.
• a.l.
  a.l.

  abbreviation

  autograph letter.
• A.L.
  A.L.

  abbreviation

  American League.

al

¹ American  

[ahl] / ɑl /

noun

1. Indian mulberry.

---

Al ² American  

[al] / æl /

noun

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

---

Al ³ American  

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. aluminum.

---

AL ⁴ American  

abbreviation

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

2. Anglo-Latin.

---

al- ⁵ American  

1. variant of ad- before l: allure.

---

-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- (cf. -ar); recent lapses in this rule have produced semantically distinct pairs, as familiar and familial.

---

-al ⁷ American  

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

   denial; refusal.

---

-al ⁸ American  

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

   chloral.

---

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.

---

al. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. other things.

---

al. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

1. other persons.

---

AL. ¹² American  

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Latin.

---

a.l. ¹³ American  

abbreviation

1. autograph letter.

---

A.L. ¹⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Baseball. American League.

2. American Legion.

3. Anglo-Latin.

---

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)

---

-al ² British  

suffix

1. indicating an aldehyde

   ethanal

2. indicating a pharmaceutical product

   phenobarbital

---

-al ³ British  

suffix

1. of; related to; connected with

   functional

   sectional

   tonal

---

-al ⁴ British  

suffix

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

   rebuttal

   recital

   renewal

---

Al ⁵ British  

symbol

1. aluminium

---

al ⁶ British  

abbreviation

1. Albania

---

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 results described here have been published as E. C. Matthews et al.,

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

It was empty and heading to the Iraqi port of Khor al Zubair, according to its transponder signal, Kpler said.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

The article has only been invoked once before, when allies supported the U.S. following al Qaeda’s attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The Red Sea has its own choke point, the Bab al Mandab strait, as important for world trade as the Strait of Hormuz.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Con el agua al cuello y la marea subiendo.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago