alas

From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.

• (obsolete) helas

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈlæs/, /əˈlɑːs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈlæs/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ɘˈlɛs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æs

alas

1. Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.

   Synonyms: alack, oh well

   I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.

   • c. 1521, John Skelton, Speke Parott:

     Helas I lamente the dull abuſyd brayne
     The enfatuate fantaſies the wytles wylfulnes
     Of on and hothyr at me that haue dyſdayne

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 278, column 1:

     Alas poore Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Ieſt; of moſt excellent fancy, he hath borne me on his backe a thouſand times: And how abhorred my Imagination is, my gorge riſes at it.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 18:10:

     Standing afarre off for the feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mighty citie: for in one houre is thy iudgement come.

   • 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 188:

     The thorough and shameless commercialism of Sex has alas! been reserved for what is called "Christian civilization," and with it (perhaps as a necessary consequence) Prostitution and Syphilis have grown into appalling evils, accompanied by a gigantic degradation of social standards, and upgrowth of petty Philistinism and niaiserie.

• alack and alas
• alas and alack
• alas the day, alas the while

From Yakut алаас (alaas).

• IPA^(key): /əˈlɑːs/, /əˈlæs/

alas (plural alases or alasses)

1. A type of geological depression which occurs in Yakutia, formed by the subsidence of permafrost.

   Alternative forms: alass, alaas

• AALS, ALSA, LAAS, Lasa, aals, sala

• alasu, las, lasu

From Latin laxō. Compare Romanian lăsa, las.

alas (participle alãsatã)

1. to let, allow
2. to leave (something), drop

• paralas
• alãsãtonj

• alãsari / alãsare
• alãsat
• alãsãturã

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *halas, from Proto-Austronesian *Salas. Cognate to Javanese ꦲꦭꦱ꧀ (alas, “forest”).

• IPA^(key): /alas/
• Hyphenation: a‧las

alas (Balinese script ᬳᬮᬲ᭄)

1. (madia, kasar) forest

   Synonym: wana

• “alas”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

Blend of a +‎ las. From Spanish a las.

alas

1. o'clock

   Synonym: (for one o'clock) ala

From Spanish as.

alas

1. (card games) an ace; a card with a single spot
2. a trump card

alas

1. inessive singular of ala

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑlɑs/, [ˈɑ̝lɑ̝s̠]
• Rhymes: -ɑlɑs
• Syllabification^(key): a‧las
• Hyphenation^(key): alas

From Proto-Finnic *alas. Equivalent to ala- (“lower, under”) +‎ -s (s-lative singular).

alas (comparative alemmaksi or alemmas, superlative alimmaksi or alimmas)

1. down, downward, downwards

• alaha (dialectal)

• alhaalle

• (antonym(s) of “down; downward”): ylös

alas

1. (followed by a nominative) down with (e.g. in demonstrations)

   Alas rikolliset!

   Down with the criminals!

• “alas”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (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

alas

1. second-person singular present imperative of alkaa (with enclitic -s)

• sala, sala-

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈalas/ [ˈa.las]
• Rhymes: -alas
• Syllabification: a‧las
• Homophone: Alas

Inherited from Malay alas (“base, layer”), from Classical Malay الس (alas).

alas (plural alas-alas)

1. base, foundation

   Synonym: dasar

2. layer, lining, covering

   Synonym: lapis

3. (archaeology) a structure that becomes a support for other structures above it, such as a pedestal on a statue

Borrowed from Javanese alas (“forest”), from Old Javanese alas (“forest”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *halas (“forest, wilderness, woods, jungle”), from Proto-Austronesian *Salas (“forest, wilderness, woods”). Cognate to Balinese alas (“forest”).

alas (plural alas-alas)

1. (chiefly dialectal) forest

   Synonyms: hutan, rimba

Borrowed from Javanese [Term?].

alas (plural alas-alas)

1. (chiefly dialectal) rope on a small boat stabilizer

From Tenggalan

alas (comparative lebih alas, superlative paling alas)

1. coarse, sandy

• “alas”, 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

From Proto-Finnic *alas. Cognates include Finnish alas and dialectal Estonian alas.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlɑs/, [ˈɑɫɑˑz̠]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlɑs/, [ˈɑɫɑˑʒ̥]
• (Hevaha) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlɑs/, [ˈɑɫɑˑʒ̥]
• Rhymes: -ɑlɑs
• Hyphenation: a‧las

alas

1. synonym of allaa
   • 1936, D. I. Efimov, Lukukirja: Inkeroisia alkușkouluja vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 13:

     Yks, kaks! Alas läks.
     Yks! Kaks! Ympäär plaks!

     One, two! Down you go.
     One! Two! Around you plop down!

• See ala-

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 11
• Arvo Laanest (1997), Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 19

alas

1. romanization of ꦲꦭꦱ꧀

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

alās

1. second-person singular present active subjunctive of alō

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

ālās

1. accusative plural of āla

• "alas", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

• IPA^(key): /a.las/

alas f

1. inflection of ala:
   1. genitive singular
   2. nominative/vocative/accusative plural

• IPA^(key): /ˈalas/ [ˈa.las]
• Rhymes: -alas, -las, -as
• Hyphenation: a‧las

alas (Jawi spelling الس, plural alas-alas or alas²)

1. base, framework, layer, pad, foundation

• > Indonesian: alas (inherited)

• "alas" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

from Old French a las.

alas

1. alas
   • 1470–1483 (date produced), Thom̃s Malleorre [i.e., Thomas Malory], “[Morte Arthur]”, in Le Morte Darthur (British Library Additional Manuscript 59678), [England: s.n.], folio 451, verso, lines 13–14:

     Alas ſeyde quene Gwenyu[er] now ar we myſcheved bothe //

     “Alas!” said Queen Guinevere, “now are we mischieved both!”

• English: alas

alas

1. plural of ala

alas

1. plural of ala

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *halas (“forest, wilderness, woods, jungle”), from Proto-Austronesian *Salas (“forest, wilderness, woods”).

alas

1. wood, forest
2. quantity of flowers or plants growing in a thick cluster

• Javanese: ꦲꦭꦱ꧀ (alas)
  • → Indonesian: alas

• "alas" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

alas

1. plural of ala

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *halas (“forest, wilderness, woods, jungle”), from Proto-Austronesian *Salas (“forest, wilderness, woods”).

alas

1. wood, forest
2. (by extension) land, territory
   • (Can we date this quote?), Bujangga Manik:

     Sadatang ka tungtung Sunda, meuntasing di Cipamali, datang ka alas Jawa.

     When I've reached the limits of Sunda, I crossed the Pamali river, and came to the lands of Java.

• > Sundanese: alas (inherited)

alas

1. plural of ala

alas

1. second-person singular present indicative of alar

àlās m inan (Cyrillic spelling а̀ла̄с)

1. alternative form of hàlās

• IPA^(key): /ˈalas/ [ˈa.las]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alas
• Syllabification: a‧las

alas f pl

1. plural of ala

From Old Sundanese alas, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *halas (“forest, wilderness, woods, jungle”), from Proto-Austronesian *Salas (“forest, wilderness, woods”).

alas (Sundanese script ᮃᮜᮞ᮪)

1. forest

   Synonym: leuweung

Borrowed from Spanish al as.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔaˈlas/ [ʔɐˈlas]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: a‧las

alás (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎᜐ᜔)

1. (card games) ace

   Synonym: eys

2. (figuratively, by extension) trump card

Playing cards in Tagalog · baraha (layout · text)
alas	dos	tres	kuwatro	singko	seis	siyete
otso	nuwebe	diyes	sota	reyna, kabayo	hari	diyoker

Borrowed from Spanish a las.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔaˈlas/ [ʔɐˈlas]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: a‧las

alás (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎᜐ᜔)

1. o'clock

   Synonym: (for one o' clock) ala

• Used except for one o' clock.

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ʔaˈlas/ [ʔɐˈlas] (adjective)
    • Rhymes: -as
  • IPA^(key): /ˈʔalas/ [ˈʔaː.lɐs] (noun)
    • Rhymes: -alas
• Syllabification: a‧las

alás (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎᜐ᜔)

1. cut short and even

alas (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎᜐ᜔)

1. act of cutting or lopping off growth evenly

   Synonym: palas

• alasin

• “alas”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• Zorc, David Paul (1979–1983), Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 1, page 9

• laas, asal, alsa, sala, lasa

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *halas, from Proto-Austronesian *Salas.

alas

1. forest

• alas-laran