Where does “al” come from?

al (Galician) comes from Old Portuguese al, from Vulgar Latin ale, from Latin alius, from Proto-Italic aljos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂élyos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂él- — to grow, nourish.

al (Galician): everything, the rest

Definitions

  1. everything, the rest

Ancestry of “al”, step by step

al traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Portuguese al

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Portugueseal
2Vulgar Latinalesecond-person singular present active imperative...
3Latinaliusother, another, any other; else; different
4Proto-Italicaljosanother
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂élyosother, another
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂él-to grow, nourish

via Leonese al

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Leoneseal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂él-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂élyosEvery word from Proto-Italic aljos