You hear the word “al” without context and you don’t know what to think. This word is very ambiguous , and each person has his own association with him. Let’s try to figure out what “al” means in our language, as well as in others, and what a deep meaning lies in it.
Al in Arabic
For the majority, the first thing that comes to mind is the Arabic language. Let's see what “al” means in Arabic? First of all, it is a definite article, but there are no indefinite ones in the Arabic language. It is always written together and portrayed as a vertical stick. But writing together does not mean that the word "al" becomes an integral part of this word.
Depending on which consonant the article is placed in, you need to read it in different ways. If these are the so-called solar letters, and there are 14 of them in Arabic, then the article loses its ending -l and transforms into the first sound of the word behind it. For example, shams is translated as the sun, if you want to say "this is the sun," then it is pronounced as "al-shams." We list all the solar letters:
ta, sa, dal, hall, ra, zay, sin, tire, garden, dad, ta, for, lam, nun
So they are read in the Arabic alphabet. The remaining 14 letters in Arabic are called lunar, and al is not converted.
alif, ba, jim, ha, ha, ʻin, gein, fa, kaf, kaf, mime, ha, vav, ya
For example, al-Kamar (translated as “this is the moon”) clearly demonstrates that the transformation does not occur.
In many words borrowed from Arabic, you can see this article. For example, the word admiral came to us from Dutch, but has Arabic roots. Amir-al - the lord of something, originally sounded like "amir al-bahr", that is, the lord of the sea.
In Russian
But there is this word in Russian too. Only it is a union. Let’s figure out what “al” means. In modern language it was replaced with the word “or,” but sometimes you can still hear from older people: “Where are you going?” Al are you blind? "
In books you can also find offers with such an alliance. "Al were you close in the open field to go?" - appeal of the soldier to the pool. From this sentence it is clear what “al” means, unless, which is easy to substitute.
And also?
Few people know what else means “al” in our language. Consider other meanings of the word, which are much less common.
Al is one of the many tributaries of the Kuban River, which originates in the territory of Chuvashia. A small river, only 30 km long, proudly carries its waters from the village of Berezovka in the Kanash region, in order to later become part of the wide and deep Kuban and merge into the Sea of Azov.
What else does the word al mean? This is the name of the lake in Chuvashia of karst origin. Another name, longer - Elkül. Today it is recognized as one of the regional natural monuments.
Everyone has heard the name of the gangster Al Capone. He first introduced the concept of "racket." He was interested in gambling, smuggling and prostitution, although the business card included a completely peaceful profession - a furniture seller. But he sat down for a banal tax evasion.
And what does al dente mean? This term is used in cooking and translated from Italian means “by tooth”. A certain degree of readiness of spaghetti when they have not yet had time to boil and remain firm inside. Pasta for this dish is taken only from durum wheat. Another dish that is prepared “by tooth” is rice for risotto.