Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “al” come from?

al (Middle High German) comes from Old High German āl, from Proto-West Germanic all, from Proto-Germanic allaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂él-.

Ancestry of “al”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanāl—
2Proto-West Germanicallall
3Proto-Germanicallazall
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂él-—

Words derived from “al”

  • Älchen
  • Aalfett
  • Aal
  • aalförmig
  • Aalhaut
  • Aalschwanz
  • Aalmutter
  • Aalfell
  • Aalmolch
  • aalgleich
  • aalartig
  • Aalauge
  • Aalfang
  • al
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂él- →