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• dal
  dal

  noun

  dried and often split legumes, especially lentils or peas.
• dāl
  dāl

  noun

  the eighth letter of the Arabic alphabet.
• Dal
  Dal

  noun

  a river in S Sweden, flowing SE from the W border to the Gulf of Bothnia. About 250 miles (405 km) long.

dal

¹ American  

[dahl] / dɑl /

Or dhal,

noun

1. dried and often split legumes, especially lentils or peas.

2. a sauce or dish made from cooked lentils and spices, common in South Asian cuisine.

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dal ² American  

abbreviation

1. dekaliter; dekaliters.

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dāl ³ American  

[dahl] / dɑl /

noun

1. the eighth letter of the Arabic alphabet.

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Dal ⁴ American  

[dahl] / dɑl /

noun

1. a river in S Sweden, flowing SE from the W border to the Gulf of Bothnia. About 250 miles (405 km) long.

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dal ¹ British  

/ dɑːl /

noun

1. split grain, a common foodstuff in India; pulse

2. a variant spelling of dhal

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dal ² British  

symbol

1. decalitre(s)

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Etymology

Origin of dal¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Hindi dāl “split pulse, cooked pulse,” from Sanskrit dala, from dāl- “to split”

Origin of dāl³

From Arabic

Explanation

Dal is an Indian dish made using lentils and many delicious spices. Next time you go to an Indian restaurant, try ordering dal. The Hindi word dal can be used for any bean or legume that's split in half and can be cooked without soaking it first. Its Sanskrit root, also dal, means "to split." Dal is also the soup or stew made from split lentils, one of the most popular dishes in South Asia. A typical dal is made with onions, tomatoes, and whole spices fried in oil, and it is eaten with rice or a flat bread.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dal dāl Dal

Bone Sine in Portland, Ore., flecks its mix of nuts and chana dal with ground lime leaves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

One crowd pleaser happened to be totally vegan: a red lentil dal served with coconut rice.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2024

To make dal feels like an alchemical feat, watching the pebbly lentils turn creamy, starchy and golden with turmeric.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

One man admitted that he bought up a lot of land "in exchange for rice and dal or a little money".

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2024

One afternoon Sass caught me giving the dog a bit of chapati smeared with dal.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

Dale, dāl, Dell, del, n. the low ground between hills: the valley through which a river flows.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Their local subdivisions are Leve and Karwa and many of them are also known as Dālia, because they made the dāl or pulse of Burhānpur, which had a great reputation under native rule.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV of IV Kumhar-Yemkala by Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)

Then Anuj Dal was pinned lbw for a third-ball duck to leave Lancashire as warm favourites to win the game.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

Raynor Winn has never previously admitted that she wrote the book, but it was confirmed by her solicitors that she did write How Not to Dal Dy Dir.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

"I had friends in Ireland contacting me to say: 'Hey, I've just seen you in Dal y Mellt,' which was brilliant," she said.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026

"I never would have imagined I'd come across such a spectacular discovery in the region where I live," said Milan-based paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025

Though Dal never said as much, we knew we were being taught something beyond mere concentration and ingenuity.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss