LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

alga

alga f (genitive algae)
Classical[ˈaɫ.ɡa]Ecclesiastical[ˈal.ɡa]

Meaning

  1. feminineseaweed; plants that grow in freshwater
  2. femininefigurativelysomething of little worth

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativealgaalgae
genitivealgaealgārum
dativealgaealgīs
accusativealgamalgās
ablativealgāalgīs
vocativealgaalgae

alga, ae, f. from ligo, qs. alliga, as binding, entwining, Van.,
I. sea-weed, comprising several kinds, of which one (Fucus vesiculosus, Linn.) was used for coloring red, Plin. 26, 10, 66; 32, 6, 22, § 66. Freq. in the poets, Hor. C. 3, 17, 10; Verg. A. 7, 590; so Mart. 10, 16, 5; Val. Fl. 1, 252; Claud. Ruf. 1, 387. In prose, Auct. B. Afr. 24 fin. —Hence also for a thing of little worth: vilior algā, Hor. S. 2, 5, 8: projectā vilior algā, Verg. E. 7, 42.

Origins

Of unknown origin, though probably a foreign substrate loanword related to ulva (“various grass-like or rush-like aquatic plants”). Note also similar dubiously-related forms in Baltic and Germanic with connotations of filth and dirtiness, including Lithuanian el̃mės, almens (“ichor, sanies”), (dialectal) Norwegian ul (“moldy”), olga (“to loathe”), elgja (“to fell like vomiting”), ulma (“to get moldy”), Middle Low German olm, ulm (“rottenness (esp. of wood)”), and Dutch uilig (“moldy (of wood)”). These terms have been tentatively linked to a Proto-Indo-European *alg-, *alǵ- (“to be dirty, be slimy; frog; duckweed”); other similar forms include dialectal Norwegian alka (“to dirty, soil”), Norwegian ulk (“frog, slime”), Low German ulk (“frog”). That said, it is possible that the Baltic and Germanic are not related to the Latin, or that all the terms derive from the same substrate.

Descendants
  • Catalanalga
  • Englishalga
  • Frenchalgue
  • GermanAlge
  • Italianalga
  • Portuguesealga
  • Romanianalgă
  • Sardinianaliga
  • Spanishalga
  • Galicianalga

Quick answers

What does alga mean in Latin?
alga, a noun, means “seaweed; plants that grow in freshwater; something of little worth”.
What is the genitive of alga?
The genitive singular is algae. alga is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce alga?
In classical Latin, [ˈaɫ.ɡa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈal.ɡa].