æl-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ael"

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *ala-, from Proto-Germanic *ala- (“all, whole”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“other, beyond”), related to Proto-Germanic *allaz (“all”), which comes from *h₂elnós.

Alternative forms

• eal-, eall-, al-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æl/

Prefix

æl-

1. all; complete, completely

   ‎æl- + ‎gylden (“golden”) → ‎ælgylden (“made of pure gold”)

   ‎æl- + ‎miht (“power”) → ‎ælmiht (“omnipotence”)

   ‎æl- + ‎mihtiġ (“powerful”) → ‎ælmihtiġ (“all-powerful”)

   ‎æl- + ‎nīewe (“new”) → ‎ælnīewe (“brand new”)

   ‎æl- + ‎mierca (“dark”) → ‎ælmierca (“black person”)

2. quite, very

   ‎æl- + ‎fela (“many”) → ‎ælfela (“very many”)

Usage notes

• Do not confuse this or the term below with the noun ǣl, which means "eel." Ǣlnett means "eel net," not "all-net," while ælmiht means omnipotence, not eel power.

Derived terms

Old English terms prefixed with æl-

ælgylden

ælhwit

ælmiht

ælniewe

Descendants

• Middle English: all-, al-
  • English: all-, al-
  • Scots: a'-, aw- au-

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *alja- ~ *ali-, combining form of *aljaz (“other”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æl/

Prefix

æl-

1. Alternative form of el-