wal

English Online Dictionary. What means wal‎? What does wal mean?

Translingual

Symbol

wal

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Wolaitta.

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of Wolaytta terms

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɑl/
• Hyphenation: wal
• Rhymes: -ɑl

Etymology 1

From Latin vallum (“wall”), from vallus (“stake, palisade, point”). Cognate with English wall.

Noun

wal m (plural wallen, diminutive walletje n)

1. coast, shore (side of land near to the water)
2. earthen levee as protection against flooding

   Synonym: dijk

3. wall around city as military defense

   Synonyms: omwalling, stadsmuur

4. periorbital dark circle
5. (generally in the plural) eyebags

   Synonym: oogwal

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: wal
• Negerhollands: wal

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch wal (“whale”), from Old Dutch *wal, from Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (“whale”). Cognate with English whale.

Possibly to avoid confusion with wal (“wall; shore”), the derived compound word walvis (“whale; lit. whale-fish”) gained currency over wal (“whale”). Similar clarifying compounds can be found elsewhere in Dutch: kraanvogel (“crane; lit. crane-bird”), muildier (“mule; lit. mule-animal”), oeros (“auroch; auroch-ox”), rendier (“rein; lit. rein-animal”), tortelduif (“turtle (bird); lit. turtle dove”) and windhond (“greyhound; lit. wind-dog”).

Noun

wal m (plural wallen, diminutive walletje n)

1. (archaic) whale

   Synonyms: walvis, waldier

Derived terms

Eskayan

Numeral

wal

1. eight

Gamilaraay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /val/

Noun

wal

1. container
2. rubbish bin

References

• (2017) Giacon J Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay Dictionary Supplement

Garo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

wal

1. night

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wàl/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [wàl]

Ideophone

wàl

1. sudden flash of light

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English weall, from Proto-West Germanic *wall (“wall, rampart, entrenchment”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”).

Alternative forms

• wale, walle, waule

Noun

wal (plural walles)

1. wall

Descendants

• English: wall
• Scots: wa, waa, waw
• Yola: wul, vall
• → Middle Irish: *balla
  • Irish: balla
  • Manx: boalley
  • Scottish Gaelic: balla

References

• “wal, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old English wæl.

Alternative forms

• wæl, wæle, wale, wel

Noun

wal (plural wals)

1. death, slaughter

References

• “wal, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

wal

1. Alternative form of wale (“selection, preference”)

Adjective

wal

1. Alternative form of wale (“great”)

Etymology 4

Adverb

wal

1. (rare) Alternative form of wel

North Frisian

Verb

wal

1. first/third-person singular present of wel

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos (“sheatfish”). Cognate with Old English hwæl, Old Norse hvalr, Old Saxon hwal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wal/

Noun

wal m

1. whale

Declension

Descendants

• Middle High German: wal
  • German: Wal
    • → Estonian: vaal
    • → Luxembourgish: Wal

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈval/
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: wal

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Wal, from Old High German wal, from Proto-West Germanic *hwal, from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos (“sheatfish”).

Noun

wal m animal

1. whale (certain species)

Declension

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

wal

1. second-person singular imperative of walić

Further reading

• wal in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• wal in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Welsh

Alternative forms

• (literary) gwal

Etymology

From Old English weall, ultimately a Germanic borrowing from Latin vallum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wal/

Noun

wal f (plural waliau or welydd, not mutable)

1. wall
2. (literary) Soft mutation of gwal.

Usage notes

wal is the most commonly used word for "wall" in Welsh. The word mur is used most often when referring to large walls such as the defensive walls of a city or Mur Mawr Tsieina "The Great Wall of China". It is also used in compound words, for example murlun, rhagfur, cellfur, briwydd y mur. pared in an internal partition wall whereas magwyr is a literary word for an external wall, little used now but preserved in such things as place and plant names.

Derived terms

• paladr y wal (“pellitory of the wall, spreading pellitory”)

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “wal”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies