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

The Central Intelligence Agency worked closely with Pakistan’s army and intelligence services in its hunt for the al Qaeda militants responsible for Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, including the group’s leader, bin Laden.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 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

“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

“Gracias a Dios y al maestro Osterveen,” she said.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez