al

US: 'al': (äl); 'Al': (al)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

al  (äl), n. 

1. Plant Biology See Indian mulberry. 

• Hindi āl

Al  (al), n. 

1. Chemistry a male given name: form of Albert, Alfred, Aloysius. 

à l', 

1. form of à la used for either gender before a vowel or
   h.

al-, 

1. var. of ad- before
   l: allure.

Al-, 

1. a word in Arabic names meaning "family'' or "the house of '':
   Al-Saud, or the members of the house of Saud.

• Arabic āl family

-al¹ :

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.-ar¹);
   recent lapses in this rule have produced semantically distinct pairs, as familiar and familial. Cf. -ical, ial. 

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

-al² :

1. a suffix forming nouns from verbs, usually verbs of French or Latin origin: denial;
   refusal.

• Latin -ālia
• Old French
• Latin -āle (singular), -ālia (plural), nominalized neuter of -ālis -al¹; often replacing Middle English -aille

-al³ :

1. [Chem.] a suffix indicating that a compound contains an aldehyde group: chloral.

• presumed to be short for aldehyde

AL, 

1. Alabama (approved esp. for use with zip code).
2. Language Varieties Anglo-Latin.

Al, [Symbol, Chem.]

1. aluminum.

AL., 

1. Language Varieties Anglo-Latin.

al., 

1. other things.
• Latin alia
2. other persons.
• Latin alia

A.L., 

1. Sport [Baseball.] American League.
2. American Legion.
3. Language Varieties Anglo-Latin.

a.l., 

1. autograph letter.

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al abbreviation:Internet_domain_name

1. Albania

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

-al¹ ,suffix. 

1. -al is used to form adjectives from nouns, with the meaning "relating to, of the kind of, having the form or character of:'' autumn + -al → autumnal (= relating to the season autumn);
   nature +
   -al → natural (= having the character of nature).

-al² ,suffix. 

1. -al is used to form nouns from verbs, with the meaning "the act of:'' deny + -al → denial (= the act of denying);
   refuse + -al → refusal (= the act of refusing).

AL,  an abbreviation of:

1. Alabama.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

AL abbreviation

1. Alabama
2. Anglo-Latin
3. (in the US and Canada) American League (of baseball teams)
4. Albania (international car registration)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Al symbol:chemical

1. aluminium

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-al suffix:forming_adjectives

1. of; related to; connected with: functional, sectional, tonal

Etymology: from Latin -ālis

-al suffix:forming_nouns

1. the act or process of doing what is indicated by the verb stem: rebuttal, recital, renewal

Etymology: via Old French -aille, -ail, from Latin -ālia, neuter plural used as substantive, from -ālis -al¹

-al suffix:forming_nouns

1. indicating an aldehyde: ethanal
2. indicating a pharmaceutical product: phenobarbital

Etymology: shortened from aldehyde