Where does “אלא” come from?

אלא (Aramaic) comes from Aramaic לָא, from Proto-Semitic lā — not; no.

אלא (Aramaic): but

Definitions

  1. but

Ancestry of “אלא”, step by step

אלא traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Aramaic לָא

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Aramaicלָאnot
2Proto-Semiticnot; no

via Aramaic אִן

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Aramaicאִןif
Every word from Proto-Semitic Every word from Aramaic לָא