English Online Dictionary. What means wal? What does wal mean?
Translingual
Symbol
wal
- (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)
- coast, shore (side of land near to the water)
- earthen levee as protection against flooding
- Synonym: dijk
- wall around city as military defense
- Synonyms: omwalling, stadsmuur
- periorbital dark circle
- (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)
- (archaic) whale
- Synonyms: walvis, waldier
Derived terms
Eskayan
Numeral
wal
- eight
Gamilaraay
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /val/
Noun
wal
- container
- 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
- night
Hausa
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /wàl/
- (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA(key): [wàl]
Ideophone
wàl
- 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)
- 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)
- death, slaughter
References
- “wal, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
Noun
wal
- Alternative form of wale (“selection, preference”)
Adjective
wal
- Alternative form of wale (“great”)
Etymology 4
Adverb
wal
- (rare) Alternative form of wel
North Frisian
Verb
wal
- 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
- whale
Declension
Descendants
- Middle High German: wal
- German: Wal
- → Estonian: vaal
- → Luxembourgish: Wal
- German: 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
- whale (certain species)
Declension
Hypernyms
- wieloryb, waleń
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
wal
- 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)
- wall
- (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