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Etymology and origin of the English word -al

Pronunciation

-al1 adjectives: of, relating to

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman -al via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin -ālis

Etymology

The suffix for adjectives is inherited from Middle English -al, also -el,[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman -al and Old French -al, and directly borrowed from Latin -ālis,[5][3][2][6] neuter -āle, an adjective suffix meaning of the kind of or relating to.[5][6][4] It had the alternative form -āris when an l came just before, as in ālāris beside ōrālis, which is the source of -ar.[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Latin adjectives in -ālis were formed first on nouns, as ōrālis on ōs (“mouth”).[6] The regular Old French form was -el, but -al also appeared early through classicizing influence, and Middle English shows both, as in the forms of mortal.[5][6][4] English took borrowings such as capital, general and special early in the Middle English period.[5]

Semantic evolution

English came to use -al consistently, while modern French has both -el and -al.[5] Following post-classical Latin, the suffix became highly productive, attached to Latin nouns and to English nouns ultimately from Latin (basal, longitudinal), and also to bases from Greek (octagonal) and others.[5][6][4] Added to other adjectives, as in Latin annuālis, it became a common way to adapt Latin adjectives of various kinds, and it combines with Greek-derived endings to give -ical.[5][6]

Timeline

  • early Middle English – borrowings from French and Latin: capital, general, special.[5]
  • late Middle English – formations within English: occasional, professional.[5]

Meanings

Suffix

  1. Forming adjectives from nouns or other adjectives meaning of, relating to or characterized by something: coastal, seasonal.[7][2][4]

Word family

-al2 nouns of action

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1393 arrival
Borrowed from
Old French -aille via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin -ālis

Etymology

The suffix for nouns of action is inherited from Middle English -aille, later -aile and -al,[4][2] borrowed from Old French -aille,[4][3][2][6] from Latin -ālia, the neuter plural of -ālis, used as a noun.[3][2][6][8] It was generalized in French from words such as bataille (“battle”) and espousaille (“espousal”).[6] The OED treats it together with the adjective suffix.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the earliest English examples are arrival in the 14th century and acquittal in the 15th.[6][5]

Semantic evolution

Many nouns from Latin or French verbs came into use from the 16th century, such as trial, proposal and survival.[6][5] English also added the suffix to a few native verbs stressed on the last syllable, as with bestowal and betrothal.[6][4][3] bridal and burial only look as if they have this ending, since they have different origins.[4]

Timeline

  • 1393 – arrival.[5][6]
  • 1430 – acquittal.[5][6]
  • 1597 – proposal.[5]
  • 1598 – survival.[5]

Meanings

Suffix

  1. Forming nouns from verbs for an act or process: withdrawal, rehearsal.[7][2][5]

Word family

-al3 in chemistry: aldehyde

Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1823 Chevreul, in French
From
French éthal
Ultimate origin
French éthal

Etymology

The suffix for aldehydes was clipped from the first syllable of alcohol, originally in from French éthal, which M. E. Chevreul coined in 1823 for a substance he likened to ether and alcohol.[5][9][2] Etymonline takes it from aldehyde,[3] while the Shorter Oxford names both words.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chevreul's word gave the model for Liebig's German coinages Chloral (1831) and Acetal (1833).[5]

Semantic evolution

The ending was adopted for aldehydes on the pattern of G. Chancel's French butyral (1844) and valéral (1845), and the Geneva Congress of 1892 made it systematic.[5] Its use in barbital and related drug names appears to be arbitrary,[5] and Etymonline suggests a tendency that began in German and was perhaps prompted by chloral.[3]

Timeline

  • 1823 – French éthal.[5]
  • 1831 – German Chloral.[5]
  • 1844 – French butyral, the pattern for aldehyde names.[5]
  • 1892 – fixed in systematic nomenclature at Geneva.[5]

Meanings

Suffix

  1. (chemistry) Forming names of aldehydes: ethanal, retinal.[5][2]
  2. Forming names of drugs, chiefly barbiturates: veronal.[5][2]

Word family

  • chloral
  • barbital
  • -ar

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“-al.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/-al. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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