-al

/əl/[l̩][ɫ̩]/æl/

suffix

Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to produce an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.

“base + -al → basal”

OriginMiddle English -al →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

-al1

suffix-al (adjective-forming suffix, comparative more -al, superlative most -al)

comparative more -al · superlative most -al · plural -als · alternative -all · alternative -ial · alternative -ual · alternative -arial

  1. Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to produce an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.

    base + -al → basal

    3 more examples

    cranium + -al → cranial

    spine + -al → spinal

    distant + -al → distal

  2. Forming nouns, especially of verbal action.

    deny + -al → denial

    2 more examples

    propose + -al → proposal

    bestow + -al → bestowal

-al2

suffix
  1. chemistryForms the names of aldehydes.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
-an-ar-ary-id-oryoxo--y

Origin

-al · suffix

  1. Middle English-al
  2. English-al

From Middle English -al, from the Latin adjective suffix -ālis, or French, Middle French and Old French -el, -al. Distant doublet of -ar.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

-al · suffix

  1. Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)
  2. Aramaicכוחלא (kuḥlā)
  3. Arabicكُحْل (kuḥl)
  4. Andalusian Arabicكُحُول (kuḥūl)
  5. Latinalcohol
  6. Proto-Indo-European*de
  7. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  8. Proto-Italic*dē
  9. Latindē
  10. Latinde-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  13. Proto-Hellenic*údōr
  14. Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
  15. Ancient Greekῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)
  16. GermanAldehyd
  17. Englishaldehydeclip.
  18. English-al

Clipping of aldehyde.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish -al
  • -alaldehyde
Dutch -al
  • -alaldehyde
Hungarian -al
  • -alaldehyde
Polish -al
  • -alaldehyde
Swedish -al
  • -alaldehyde
Cite this entry
APA

-al. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-al

MLA

“-al.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-al. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-al,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-al.

Source: -al on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.