Arabic edit

Etymology edit

From the root ل ي ل (l-y-l). From Proto-Semitic *layl-. Can be analyzed as a singulative noun, from لَيْل (layl, nighttime) +‎ ـَة (-a, singulative suffix). Cognate with Classical Syriac ܠܹܠܝܵܐ (lēlyā), Aramaic לֵילְיָא (lēləyā), Hebrew לַיְלָה (láyla).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

لَيْلَة (laylaf (plural لَيْلَات (laylāt) or لَيَالٍ (layālin))

  1. a night
    Antonym: يَوْم (yawm)
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 69:7:
      سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى ٱلْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ
      saḵḵarahā ʕalayhim sabʕa layālin waṯamāniyata ʔayyāmin ḥusūman fatarā l-qawma fīhā ṣarʕā kaʔannahum ʔaʕjāzu naḵlin ḵāwiyatin
      Which He [i.e., Allāh] imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 89:1-2:
      وَٱلْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ
      wal-fajri walayālin ʕašrin
      By the dawn. And [by] ten nights
  2. soiree

Declension edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

References edit

  • Wehr, Hans (1979), “ليل”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

Moroccan Arabic edit

Etymology edit

From Arabic لَيْلة (layla).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /laj.la/, /liː.la/
  • (file)

Noun edit

لَيْلة or لِيلة (layla or līlaf (plural لَيْلات (laylāt) or لِيلات (līlāt))

  1. a night

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

  • ليل (layl, līl, nighttime)

South Levantine Arabic edit

Etymology edit

From Arabic لَيْلَة (layla).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /leː.le/, [ˈleː.le]
  • IPA(key): /leː.la/, [ˈleː.la]
  • (file)

Noun edit

ليلة (lēlef (singulative, collective ليل m (lēl), plural ليالي (layāli))

  1. a night, late evening
    Antonym: يوم (yōm)

Derived terms edit

See also edit