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־ל. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
־ל, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
־ל in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
־ל you have here. The definition of the word
־ל will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
־ל, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Yiddish
Alternative forms
- ־דל (-dl), ־כל (-khl) — after -n
Etymology
From Middle High German -el, from Old High German -il, from Old High German -ilī. Compare German -lein, dialectal German -el, -erl, Alemannic German -li.
Pronunciation
Suffix
־ל • (-l) n, plural ־לעך (-lekh)
- Forms diminutive nouns when added to a noun, with umlaut where applicable.
- Forms fractional numerals when added to the stem of an ordinal numeral.
Usage notes
- In general, Yiddish abhors forming ־ל (-l) diminutives with nouns or roots of nouns ending in ־ן (-n). This may be handled one of two ways:
- Replace ־ן (-n) with ־ל (-l) with or without formation of umlaut, e.g. קערן (kern) + ־ל (-l) → קערל (kerl), or בויגן (boygn) + ־ל (-l) → בייגל (beygl).
- Insert a consonant between ־ן (-n) and ־ל (-l). This is most commonly ־ד־ (-d-) or ־כ־ (-kh-), e.g. האָן (hon) + ־ל (-l) → הענדל (hendl) or באַן (ban) + ־ל (-l) → בענכל (benkhl). This also applies when the noun ends in a vowel, but the last consonant of the word is ־נ־ (-n-), e.g. אַפֿענע (afene) + ־ל (-l) → אַפֿענדל (afendl). In this case, the plural form becomes ־דלעך (-dlekh) or ־כלעך (-khlekh).
- Note that some nouns use both forms as diminutives, e.g. קערן (kern) + ־ל (-l) → קערל (kerl) or קערנדל (kerndl), albeit often with different senses.
Derived terms
Descendants
See also