Meanings
argal1
- thus, therefore
And an act hath three branches—it is to act, to do, to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], lines 11-131 more example
He thought: 900 pesos=100 bottles of whiskey=900 ditto tequila. Argal: one should drink neither tequila nor whiskey but mescal.
1947, Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, page 77
argal2
argal3
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinergō“therefore, thus”
- Englishargal
A corruption of the Latin ergō (“therefore, thus”) by William Shakespeare for The Gravedigger in his famous play, Hamlet.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
argal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/argal
“argal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/argal. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “argal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/argal.
Source: argal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.