-alis

Forms

-ālis (neuter -āle); third-declension two-termination suffix^[1]

Etymology

The suffix is inherited from Proto-Italic *-ālis, perhaps connected with Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“to grow”).^[1] Weiss compares Volscian flusare, a month name equivalent to flōrālis.^[2] He notes that it has been derived from the Etruscan genitive in ⟨-al⟩, but objects that this would separate it from the other Latin suffixes in a vowel plus ⟨-lis⟩.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Naevius already has mortālis “mortal”, from mors, and rēgālis “royal”, from rēx, and Plautus has capitālis, nāvālis and virginālis.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It makes denominal adjectives of many kinds.^[2][3] Some of these came to be used as nouns, such as the neuter animal from animālis.^[2] Its neuter plural -ālia names festivals, usually from names of gods: Bacchānālia, Sāturnālia, Vestālia.^[2] It is common in Latin religious terms such as Vestālis, where, according to Sihler, what originally preceded the suffix is obscure.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius has mortālis and rēgālis.^[2][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has capitālis, comitiālis, nāvālis and virginālis.^[2][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato has Sāturnālia.^[2][5]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius has annālis and laterālis.^[2][5]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms adjectives of relationship from nouns: exitiālis, officiālis, rēgālis.^[3][1][2]
2. Forms adjectives from numerals.^[1]
3. Added to adjectives, forms adjectives with intensified meaning.^[1]

Word family

• -ālia
• aequālis
• animālis
• annālis
• capitālis
• comitiālis
• exitiālis
• laterālis
• līberālis
• mortālis
• nāvālis
• officiālis
• plūrālis
• rēgālis
• virginālis
• Bacchānālia
• Sāturnālia
• Vestālia

Related words

• -āris
• English -al

Usage notes

After a base containing l the suffix usually becomes -āris by dissimilation, but -ālis remains in cloācālis and līmitālis.^[3][2][6] Wiktionary relates the suffix to tālis and quālis, while Weiss says those two are of a quite different nature.^[1][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Weiss, Michael (2020), Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, 2nd ed., Ann Arbor: Beech Stave
3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Meiser, Gerhard (2010), Historische Laut- und Formenlehre der lateinischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Darmstadt: WBG