wal
Translingual
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʋɑl/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: wal
- Rhymes: -ɑl
Etymology 1
From Latin vallum (“wall”), from vallus (“stake, palisade, point”). Cognate with English wall.
Noun
Derived terms
Descendants
- 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”).
Eskayan
Gamilaraay

Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /val/
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.)
Hausa
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English weall, from Proto-West Germanic *wall (“wall, rampart, entrenchment”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”).
Descendants
References
- “wal, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
From Old English wæl.
References
- “wal, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
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/
Declension
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /val/
Audio (file) - 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”).
Declension
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Welsh

Alternative forms
- (literary) gwal
Etymology
Borrowed from Old English weall.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /wal/
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.
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
gwal | wal | ngwal | unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References
- 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