Etymology

alas

A1L1A1S1

Today it means: Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment. Full definition →

Middle English alas ← Old French a las ← Latin lassus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

alas · interjection1

  1. Latin · derived fromlassus“weary”
  2. Old French · derived froma las
  3. Middle English · inherited fromalas
  4. English todayalas

From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.

alas · noun2

  1. Yakut · derived fromалаас
  2. English todayalas

From Yakut алаас (alaas).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.