alas

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English alas, also allas,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French a las, also ha las, halas and Anglo-Norman allas (now French hélas),^[4][5][6][7] from the interjection a (“ah”) and las (“wretched, unhappy; weary”),^[4][8][9] from Latin lassus (“weary”),^[4][7][8][5] the source of lassitude, from Proto-Indo-European *lē- (“to let go, slacken”).^[7][10] The OED records the Old French phrase from the mid 11th century, and the adjective as an interjection of pity or regret from the 12th century; the Anglo-Norman form is recorded from about 1120–40.^[4][11] In Old French the phrase was often understood as an interjection followed by an adjective, las, that agreed with the speaker, as in a lasse for a woman.^[4][12][5] The OED compares Old Occitan ai lassa and Italian ahi lasso.^[4][12] Klein thinks the English form was probably influenced by alack.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

An exclamation of grief, pity or regret: about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle.^[4][2][14]

Semantic evolution

Ayto and Etymonline note that it was at first an exclamation of weariness rather than of sorrow.^[15][7] In Middle English it expressed grief, pity, shame or fear;^[2] Chaucer used it nearly 400 times, mostly spelled allas.^[3] The phrase alas the day, sorrow at the events of a day, is recorded from about 1405, in Chaucer's Squire's Tale, and later gave alas-a-day.^[4] From 1573 alas was also a noun, a cry of "alas".^[4] French later replaced it with hélas, borrowed into English as helas.^[4][5] In current English it is often used as a sentence adverb, "unfortunately".^[16]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – an exclamation of grief or regret.^[4][2]
• c. 1405 – alas the day.^[4]
• 1573 – noun, a cry of alas.^[4]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Used to express grief, pity, regret or concern: Alas, poor Tom!^[8][16][4]
2. Used as a sentence adverb: unfortunately: We hoped for sunshine; alas, it rained all week.^[16]

Noun

1. A cry of alas; an expression of sorrow.^[4][9]

Related words

• alack
• lassitude
• let
• late

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
12. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
14. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
15. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
16. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins