The etymology depends on the contested origin of د (d, di, “of”), which is generally linked with Arabic ذِي (ḏī), but alternatively suggested to be related to Latin de.
Similar genitive particles are attested in Anatolian dialects of North Mesopotamian Arabic: ḏīl ~ ḏēl in the region of Mardin, dēl in Diyarbakır.
Representing an alternative opinion, Jeffrey Heath considers ديال (dyāl) a backformation from ديالو (dyālu, “his”) and ديالها (dyālha, dyāla, “her”), which he in turn derives from Vulgar Latin *di ellu and *di ella, from Classical de + illum, illa.[1]
Jamal Ouhalla suggested an origin in Andalusian Arabic, as a concatenation of the Latin de and Arabic ال (al-).[2]
ديال • (dyāl) (feminine ديالة (dyālit-), plural دياول (dyāwil))
| Inflected forms of ديال | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base form | ديال (dyāl) | ||||
| Personal-pronoun- including forms |
singular | plural | |||
| m | f | ||||
| 1st person | ديالي (dyāli) | ديالنا (dyālna) | |||
| 2nd person | ديالك (dyālek) | ديالك (dyālki) | ديالكم (dyālkum) | ||
| 3rd person | دياله (dyālu) | ديالها (dyālha) | ديالهم (dyālhum) | ||
| Inflected forms of ديالة | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base form | ديالة (dyālit-) | ||||
| Personal-pronoun- including forms |
singular | plural | |||
| m | f | ||||
| 1st person | ديالتي (dyālti) | ديالتنا (dyālitna) | |||
| 2nd person | ديالتك (dyāltek) | ديالتك (dyālitki) | ديالتكم (dyālitkum) | ||
| 3rd person | ديالته (dyāltu) | ديالتها (dyālitha) | ديالتهم (dyālithum) | ||
| Inflected forms of دياول | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base form | دياول (dyāwil) | ||||
| Personal-pronoun- including forms |
singular | plural | |||
| m | f | ||||
| 1st person | دياولي (dyāwli) | دياولنا (dyāwilna) | |||
| 2nd person | دياولك (dyāwlek) | دياولك (dyāwilki) | دياولكم (dyāwilkum) | ||
| 3rd person | دياوله (dyāwlu) | دياولها (dyāwilha) | دياولهم (dyāwilhum) | ||
ديال • (dyāl) m (plural دياول (dyāwil))