Etymology Explorer › Arabic

Where does “ألف” come from?

ألف (Arabic) comes from Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤐, from Proto-Semitic *ʔalp-.

ألف (Arabic): Name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet;...

Definitions

  1. Name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet;...

Ancestry of “ألف”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Phoenician𐤀𐤋𐤐thousand; bull, ox, head of cattle
2Proto-Semitic*ʔalp-—
Every word from Proto-Semitic *ʔalp- →