alẹ

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Cognate with Igala ánẹ́, equivalent to a- (“non-gerundive nominalizing prefix”) +‎ lẹ́ (“to approach the night, to be at dusk”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.lɛ́/

Noun

alẹ́

1. evening, night (7pm to 10pm)
2. (idiomatic, euphemistic) one's deathbed, the end of one's life

Derived terms

• alẹ́ àná (“last night”)
• Ayọ̀bámikalẹ́ (“Yorùbá name”)
• káalẹ́ (“good evening”)
• àṣálẹ́ (“dusk, evening”)
• ìrọ̀lẹ́ (“evening”)

 

Etymology 2

Cognate with Igala ánẹ̀ and possibly Igbo ala, Igbo ànị̀, Igbo ànà, proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *á-lɛ̀, possibly related to dawn breaking over the land, see Igala nẹ̀

Alternative forms

• ilẹ̀
• ulẹ̀

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.lɛ̀/

Noun

alẹ̀

1. land, earth, soil

   Synonyms: erùpẹ̀, iyẹ̀pẹ̀, ekuru

2. country, homeland

Derived terms

• alálẹ̀ (“guardian spirit of a town; ancestor”)
• alẹ̀-odò (“bedrock”)
• Alẹ̀ (“personification of the land as a female deity”)