על

Aramaic

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Semitic *ʕalay-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕal/

Preposition

על • (transliteration needed)

1. on, upon
2. over
3. about, concerning

Hebrew

Root
ע־ל־ה (ʿ-l-h)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Semitic *ʕalay-. Cognate to Arabic عَلَى (ʕalā), Ge'ez ላዕለ (laʿlä), Maltese għal.

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /al/, [ʔäl]
• (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /al/, [ʔɑɫ]
• (Sephardi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʕal/, [ʕal], /ŋal/, [ŋal]
• (Tiberian Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʕal/, [ʕal]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al

Preposition

עַל • (al)

1. (literally) On, on top of.
2. (figuratively) On.
3. (with enclitic pronoun and followed by ל־) Must.
   • c. 3rd century, "Alenu leshabeach":

     עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל

     alénu l'shabéach la'adón hakól

     We must praise the master of all

     (literally, “It is upon us to praise the master of all”)

Usage notes

• Various verbs are construed with the preposition על; for example, ויתר על (vitér al) means “to give up on”.

Inflection

Inflection table

Non-personal-pronoun-including form				עַל (al)
Personal-pronoun- including forms	Singular		Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
First person	עליי / עָלַי (alái)		עָלֵינוּ (alénu)
Second person	עָלֶיךָ (alékha)	עלייך / עָלַיִךְ (aláyikh)	עֲלֵיכֶם (alekhém)	עֲלֵיכֶן (alekhén)
Third person	עָלָיו (aláv)	עָלֶיהָ (aléha)	עֲלֵיהֶם (alehém)	עֲלֵיהֶן (alehén)

Derived terms

• עַל כֵּן (al ken)
• עַל פִּי (al pi)

References

• H5921 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Prefix

עַל • (ál)

1. Super-: above; more than; larger than.

   מִשְׁפָּחָה (mishpakhá, “family”) → עַל־מִשְׁפָּחָה (ál-mishpakhá, “superfamily”)

   יַבֶּשֶׁת (yabéshet, “continent”) → יַבֶּשֶׁת־עַל (yabéshet-ál, “supercontinent”)

   טִבְעִי (tiv'í, “natural”) → עַל־טִבְעִי (ál-tiv'í, “supernatural”)

Usage notes

• Typically used to form calques from English and other languages.
• Sometimes attached to the following word via a hyphen; otherwise, separated by a space.
• In some compounds, follows the base word as a suffix rather than preceding it as a prefix.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “super-”): תת־ (tát-, “sub-”)

Derived terms

Hebrew terms prefixed with על־

Suffix

עַל • (ál)

1. Alternative form of the prefix; see above.

   גִּבּוֹר (gibór, “hero”) → גִּבּוֹר־עָל (gibór-ál, “superhero”)