LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
suffixthird-declension two-termination suffix

-ālis

-ālis (neuter -āle)
Classical[aː.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[a.lis]

Meaning

  1. morphemesuffixtwo terminationSuffixed to nouns or numerals creating adjectives of relationship.
    anima (“breath”) + -ālis → animālis (“animate, living”)
    crūra (“legs”) + -ālis → crūrālis (“pertaining to the leg, crural”)
  2. morphemesuffixtwo terminationSuffixed to adjectives creating adjectives with an intensified meaning.
    aequus (“equal in a given quality; even, level”) + -ālis → aequālis (“equal in every respect, identical in value; uniform, unvarying”)
    aeternus (“having finite but long duration as if pertaining to an aetas; lasting”) + -ālis → aeternālis (“having infinite duration; everlasting, infinite”)

Origins

From Proto-Italic *-ālis, which also later dissimilated into an early version of -āris (e.g., mīlitāris). Perhaps connected to *h₂el- (“to grow”) (cf. the sense of indolēs, from this root).

Descendants
  • Catalan-al
  • Catalan-alla
  • English-al
  • French-aille
  • French-el
  • German-ellfrom French -el
  • French-al
  • German-al
  • Italian-aglia
  • Italian-ale

Quick answers

What does -ālis mean in Latin?
-ālis, a suffix, means “Suffixed to nouns or numerals creating adjectives of relationship.; Suffixed to adjectives creating adjectives with an intensified meaning.”.
How do you pronounce -ālis?
In classical Latin, [aː.lɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [a.lis].