ali

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ali"

Languages (37)

Translingual

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Afar • Ao • Azerbaijani • Elfdalian • Faroese • Finnish • Gorontalo • Gun • Icelandic • Indonesian • Italian • Kankanaey • Kapampangan • K'iche' • Laboya • Latin • Lavukaleve • Laz • Limos Kalinga • Macanese • Mandinka • Middle English • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nupe • Old Norse • Old Polish • O'odham • Pagu • Polish • Portuguese • Rukai • Serbo-Croatian • Sicilian • Slovene • Sundanese • Tagalog

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

ali

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Amaimon.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Amaimon terms

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈli/ [ʔʌˈlɪ]
• Hyphenation: a‧li

Noun

alí f 

1. reptile

References

• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎, Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Ao

Etymology 1

From Proto-Central Naga *li, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sV-riʔ (“to be, exist”).

Verb

ali

1. (Chungli) to be
2. (Chungli) to live

Etymology 2

From Proto-Central Naga *a-hlej, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *laj (“to exchange”).

Noun

ali

1. (Chungli) to buy

Etymology 3

From Proto-Central Naga *a-lej, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mV-lej.

Noun

ali

1. (Chungli) earth, ground

Derived terms

• alima

Further reading

• Bruhn, Daniel Wayne (2014), A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga‎, Berkeley: University of California, pages 97-98, 193-194
• Gowda, K. S. Gurubasave (1985), Ao-English-Hindi Dictionary, Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages, page 12

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic عَالٍ (ʕālin).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑːˈli]

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a‧li

Adjective

ali (comparative daha ali, superlative ən ali)

1. supreme, higher, high (dominant)

   ali məhkəmə ― supreme court

   ali təhsil müəssisəsi ― seat of higher learning

   ali baş komandan ― commander in chif (literally, “supreme main commander”)

Derived terms

• alilik

Further reading

• “ali” in Obastan.com.

Elfdalian

Etymology

From Old Norse hali, from Proto-Germanic *halô.

Noun

ali m (oblique ålå)

1. (anatomy) tail

Derived terms

• ålåbuss
• ålåell
• ålåglinder

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛaːlɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɛaːlɪ
• Homophones: alið, æli, ælið

Noun

ali n (genitive singular alis, uncountable)

1. quality, property, characteristic, nature (of someone or something)

Declension

n24-s	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	ali	alið
accusative	ali	alið
dative	ali	alnum, alinum
genitive	alis	alisins

Derived terms

• alisfrøði (“physics”)

Verb

ali

1. indicative first-person singular present of ala
2. optative of ala

Finnish

Etymology

ala- +‎ -i

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑli/, [ˈɑ̝li]
• Rhymes: -ɑli
• Syllabification^(key): a‧li
• Hyphenation^(key): ali

Postposition

ali [with genitive]

1. beneath, underneath (through the space that is underneath something)

   Synonym: alitse

   Antonyms: yli, ylitse

   Pallo pyöri tuolin ali ja ovesta ulos.

   The ball rolled underneath the chair and out of the door.

Usage notes

ali cannot take a possessive suffix; alitse is used instead if possessive forms are desired.

Inflection

Declension of ala- noun case singular plural adverbial form singular plural nominative ala- – superessive alhaalla – genitive – – delative alhaalta – partitive – – sublative alhaalle – accusative – – lative alas – inessive – – temporal – – elative – – causative – – illative – – multiplicative – – adessive alla – distributive – – ablative alta – temp. dist. – – allative alle – prolative ali alitse – essive – – situative allekkain (alakkain) – translative – – oppositive alatusten – abessive – – instructive – – comitative – –

Derived terms

• ali-
• alittaa
• alitusten

compounds

• alikangas
• alikulku
• alimiehitetty
• alimiehitys
• alinomaa
• alivuoto

Related terms

See the inflection table.

• ala-
• ali-
• alemmas
• alempana
• alhainen
• alittaa

Further reading

• “ali”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Gorontalo

Noun

ali

1. a hole sunk into the ground as a source of water or other fluids; well.

Gun

Etymology

Cognates include Fon alì, Eastern Xwla Gbe alì

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.lì/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

alì (plural alì lɛ́ or alì lẹ́)

1. road

Derived terms

• alìhò (“lane (Nigeria)”)
• alìklán (“street”)
• alìkplítɛ̀n (“crossroads (Benin)”)
• alìkpá (“street (Benin)”)
• alìplítẹ̀n (“crossroads (Nigeria)”)
• alìpá (“street (Nigeria)”)
• alìxò (“lane (Benin)”)
• tòhòmẹ̀-lìhò (“street (Nigeria)”)
• tòxòmɛ̀-lìxò (“street (Benin)”)

Icelandic

Noun

ali

1. indefinite accusative plural of alur

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay ali, from Arabic عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈali/

Verb

ali

1. to show oneself

Noun

ali (plural ali-ali)

1. greeting

Derived terms

• mengali

Further reading

• “ali”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.li/
• Rhymes: -ali
• Hyphenation: à‧li

Noun

ali f

1. plural of ala

Verb

ali

1. inflection of alare:
   1. second-person singular present indicative
   2. first/second/third-person singular present subjunctive
   3. third-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• Lai, Lia

Kankanaey

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔali/ [ˈʔaː.li̞]
  • Rhymes: -ali
• (Sagada, parts of Sabangan) IPA^(key): /ˈʔari/ [ˈʔaː.ri̞]
  • Rhymes: -ari
• Syllabification: a‧li

Noun

áli

1. act of coming, arriving

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms & variants of ali

Southern / Central
Mt. Province	Tadian	ali, (Banaao, Cadad-anan, Cagubatan, Dacudac, Lenga, Pandayan) alo
	Sabangan	ali, (elderly) ali / ari
Northern / Applai
Mt. Province	Sagada	ali, (elderly) ali / ari

Derived terms

• iali
• omali
• umali
• umiali
• yali

References

• Morice Vanoverbergh (1933), “áli”, in A Dictionary of Lepanto Igorot or Kankanay. As it is spoken at Bauco (Linguistische Anthropos-Bibliothek; XII)‎, Mödling bei Wien, St. Gabriel, Österreich: Verlag der Internationalen Zeitschrift „Anthropos“, →OCLC, page 19
• Allen, Larry (2021), “ali”, in Kankanaey – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics

Kapampangan

Alternative forms

• e
• ale

Interjection

ali

1. no; stop; not

   Antonym: wa

K'iche'

Etymology

From Proto-Mayan *ʔalit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaːˈliː/

Noun

ali

1. girl

References

• Christenson, Allen J. (2003), Kʼicheʼ-English dictionary and Guide to the pronunciation of the Kʼicheʼ-Maya alphabet‎, Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, →OCLC, page 11
• The Academy of Mayan Languages with speaker Lucas Chilisná Botón (2014), “Entry #135”, in Kʼulbʼil Yol Twitz Paxil [Kʼicheʼ Talking Dictionary]‎, Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages

Laboya

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *huaji-q, from *huaji, from Proto-Austronesian *Suaji.

Noun

ali

1. younger sibling

References

• Rina, A. Dj.; Kabba, John Lado B. (2011), “ali”, in Kamus Bahasa Lamboya, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat [Dictionary of Lamboya Language, West Sumba Regency], Waikabubak: Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat, page 6
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*Suaji”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Latin

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈa.liː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.li]

Verb

alī

1. present passive infinitive of alō

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.liː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.li]

Noun

ālī

1. inflection of ālus:
   1. nominative/vocative plural
   2. genitive singular
2. genitive singular of ālum and ālium

Lavukaleve

Noun

ali m

1. man

Laz

Noun

ali

1. Latin spelling of ალი (ali)

Limos Kalinga

Noun

ali

1. king

Macanese

Alternative forms

• alí

Etymology

From Portuguese ali.

Adverb

ali

1. there (away from the speaker)

   Antonym: aqui

   ali-riva ― up there

   ali-vánda ― over there

   qui aqui, qui ali ― either here or there

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm

Mandinka

Pronoun

ali

1. you (personal pronoun)

See also

Mandinka personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person	short	ń, m̀
	long	ńte	ńtolu, ńtelu
2nd person	short	í	ali
	long	íte	alitolu, alitelu
3rd person	short	a	ì
	long	ate	ìtolu, ìtelu, ìte

Middle English

Adjective

ali

1. alternative form of holy (sacred)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

ali

1. (non-standard since 2012) definite plural of al

Participle

ali

1. (non-standard since 2012) past participle of ala

Nupe

Alternative forms

• eli

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.lī/

Noun

ali

1. character; disposition; behaviour

Old Norse

Noun

ali

1. indefinite accusative plural of alr

Verb

ali

1. third-person active present subjunctive of ala

Old Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Old Polish a

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.

Proto-Balto-Slavic *lei

Proto-Slavic *li

Old Polish li

univ.

Old Polish ali

Univerbation of a + li. First attested in the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /alʲi/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /alʲi/

Conjunction

ali

1. (attested in Lesser Poland) Introduces a contradicting clause; but

   Synonym: ale

   • 1880-1894 [1436], Sprawozdania Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności‎, volume III, Krakow, page 332:

     Rudda nye othworzila szye na roly... woytha, aly othworzila szye na roly claszthorney

     [Ruda nie otworzyła sie na roli... wojta, ali otworzyła sie na roli klasztornej]

2. Adds to a previous statement; but
   • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎, page 638:

     Kristus... rzekł ku swem zwolenikom: Kiedym was słał przez moszny, przez toboły..., azali wam czego niedostawało? A oni rzekli: Wszegośmy dosyć mieli. Ali już kto ma mosznę, weźmi i tobołę (sed nunc qui habet sacculum, tollat... peram Luc 22, 36)

     [Krystus... rzekł ku swem zwolenikom: Kiedym was słał przez moszny, przez toboły..., azali wam czego niedostawało? A oni rzekli: Wszegośmy dosyć mieli. Ali już kto ma mosznę, weźmi i tobołę (sed nunc qui habet sacculum, tollat... peram Luc 22, 36)]

3. (attested in Masovia) until
   • 1920 [1424], Marceli Handelsman, Antoni Rybarski, Kazimierz Tymieniecki, editors, Najdawniejsze księgi sądowe mazowieckie, volume II, number 237, Zakroczym:

     Iakom ya ne mal dzewcze mey vosza ani con[a dacz], ali na mego concza smerczy

     [Jakom ja nie miał dziewce mej woza ani kon[ia dać], ali na mego końca śmierci]

Particle

ali

1. (attested in Masovia) until, as long as, up to
   • 1950 [1499], Władysław Kuraszkiewicz, Adam Wolff, editors, Zapiski i roty polskie XV-XVI wieku z ksiąg sądowych ziemi warszawskiej, number 1831, Warsaw:

     Jakossny my vyethnaly y rosdzyelyli Anna s B[b]arbara..., rolamy..., lassy, borrmy aly do waczyerzina syvotha

     [Jakosmy my ujednali i rozdzielili Annę z B[b]arbarą..., rolami..., lasy, bormi ali do macierzyna żywota]

Descendants

• Polish: ali

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “ali”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

O'odham

Noun

ali

1. alternative form of 'ali

Pagu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈa.li]

  • Audio:

    (file)

Verb

ali

1. to cry

   Noaka la moali.

   Let her cry.

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Old Polish a

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.

Proto-Balto-Slavic *lei

Proto-Slavic *li

Old Polish li

univ.

Old Polish ali

Polish ali

Inherited from Old Polish ali. By surface analysis, univerbation of a +‎ li.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.li/
• Rhymes: -ali
• Syllabification: a‧li
• Homophone: Ali

Conjunction

ali

1. (obsolete) but

   Synonym: ale

2. (Middle Polish) so, hence

   Synonym: więc

3. (Middle Polish) let alone

   Synonyms: a już, a zaraz

4. (Middle Polish) or

   Synonym: albo

Particle

ali

1. (obsolete) used for presenting something; here

   Synonym: oto

Further reading

• ali in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “ali”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Włodzimierz Gruszczyński (08.06.2022), “ALI”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “ali”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “ali”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 24

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• aly (obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese ali, aly, from Latin ad illīc (literally “to there”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aˈli/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐˈli/

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: a‧li

Adverb

ali (not comparable)

1. there (far from both the speaker and the audience)

   Synonym: lá

   • 2008, Priscila Ferraz, nuvem de pó, Marco Zero, →ISBN, page 58:

     Nem é preciso dizer que o jantar foi um verdadeiro desastre. O arroz ficou empedrado, tipo “unidos venceremos”, a carne virou uma “sola de sapato”, salvou-se mais ou menos a salada, mesmo assim porque Cláudia não quis comentar nada a respeito de uma lesma que viu na alface mal lavada. Mas ali coube perfeitamente o dito popular “a fome é o melhor tempero”.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2012, Luís Fernando Veríssimo, “A diferença”, in Diálogos Impossíveis, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Objetiva, →ISBN, page 10:

     Internou-se na clínica com a vaga esperança de que a Morte, que vem ali buscar tanta gente, um dia o leve por distração.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

Usually, ali implies a nearer position than lá.

See also

Portuguese demonstratives

		pronouns					adverbs
		singular		plural		neuter
		masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
proximal	X	este	esta	estes	estas	isto	aqui, cá
	de + X	deste	desta	destes	destas	disto	daqui
	em + X	neste	nesta	nestes	nestas	nisto	—
medial	X	esse	essa	esses	essas	isso	aí
	de + X	desse	dessa	desses	dessas	disso	daí
	em + X	nesse	nessa	nesses	nessas	nisso	—
distal	X	aquele	aquela	aqueles	aquelas	aquilo	ali, lá, acolá
	de + X	daquele	daquela	daqueles	daquelas	daquilo	dali, dacolá
	em + X	naquele	naquela	naqueles	naquelas	naquilo	—
	a + X	àquele	àquela	àqueles	àquelas	àquilo
anaphoric	X	o	a	os	as	—	—
	de + X	do	da	dos	das
	em + X	no	na	nos	nas
	a + X	ao	à	aos	às

Further reading

• “ali”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “ali”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Rukai

Noun

ali

1. used by women to refer to one's female friend

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ali, *ale.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /âli/
• Hyphenation: a‧li

Conjunction

ȁli (Cyrillic spelling а̏ли)

1. but

   Synonyms: ȁle, nu

2. however

   Synonyms: ȁle, nu

3. (Croatia) or, if

Further reading

• “ali”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
• “ali”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Sicilian

Noun

ali

1. plural of ala

Slovene

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

The second pronunciation is used in the second sense.

• IPA^(key): /áli/, /áːli/

Conjunction

ȁli or ȃli

1. or
2. (ali ... ali) either ... or

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ali/

Particle

ali

1. Introduces a yes-no question.

Further reading

• “ali”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Sundanese

Sundanese register set
lemes	cingcin, lélépén
lemes ka sorangan	{{{les}}}
lemes ka batur	{{{leb}}}
loma	ali
cohag	{{{co}}}

Etymology

From Old Javanese ali (“ring”)

Noun

ali (Sundanese script ᮃᮜᮤ)

1. ring

Derived terms

• ali agrem
• ali meneng
• ali-ali
• mata ali

Further reading

• "ali" in Maman Sumantri; Atjep Djamaludin; Achmad Patoni; R.H. Moch. Koerdie; M.O. Koesman; Epa Sjafei Adisastra. (1985), Kamus Sunda-Indonesia [Sundanese-Indonesian Dictionary] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Department of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔali/ [ˈʔaː.lɪ]
• Rhymes: -ali
• Syllabification: a‧li

Noun

ali (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎᜒ)

1. alternative form of ale