Jump to content

le

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Borrowed from French le.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): (usual pronunciation, like French) /lə/; also (esp. US or online) /leɪ/, (rarely) /li/, (emulating Parisian French) /lø/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -e

Article

[edit]

le

  1. (informal, humorous) The.
    • 1949, Michael Maltese, For Scent-imental Reasons, spoken by Penelope Pussycat:
      Le mew. Le purr.
    • 1996 September 28, Game Freak, Pokémon Blue, Nintendo, level/area: S.S. Anne:
      Waiter: 'Bonjour! I am le waiter on this ship! [...] Ah! Le strong silent type!'
    • 2001 June 24, LaManna, “My Weekend...”, in alt.punk[4] (Usenet):
      [] upon arrival, le girlfriend realizes she has left her ID back at my house (a 1 1/2 hour roundtrip on the Metro), []
    • 2002 December 27, Amelia, “Re: Neat things SANTA brought me...”, in alt.fashion[5] (Usenet):
      And then le boyfriend perks up and names around 8 different brands (Stila, MAC, Becca, Nars etc..) - I was *SO* proud of him!! :)
    • 2003 January 10, johnny dupe (quoting nowhere man), “Re: I can walk with jezus...”, in alt.fan.wings[6] (Usenet):
      That was always OUR song (me and le girlfriend of the time).
    • 2012 October 1, Miranda Kenneally, Stealing Parker, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 63:
      That's when Waitress Seductress Extraordinaire comes back and gets our order. [] "We're sharing an order of à la Appalachia, he says, handing over the menus and turning his focus back to me. Le waitress stomps off. I ask, "Why are they called that?" "Because when they've got the fries stacked up they're higher than a mountain range." I groan and touch my stomach. "You're funny," he says, his eyes twinkling.
Usage notes
[edit]

Marks the speaker as pretending to be stereotypically French. For additional jocular effect, may be used where neither English nor French would place a definite article.

[edit]
See also
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

From French lez and lès.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Preposition

[edit]

le

  1. (obsolete) Next to, near (still used in some place names).
    Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham near an old Roman road.
    Witton-le-Wear, Dalton-le-Dale, Hetton-le-Hole

Anagrams

[edit]

Afar

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

  1. (transitive) have

Conjugation

[edit]
    Conjugation of le (irregular)
1st singular 2nd singular 3rd singular 1st plural 2nd plural 3rd plural
m f
present indicative I V-affirmative liyóh litóh léh léh linóh litoonúh loonúh
N-affirmative liyó litó linó litón lón
negative máliyo, máyyu málito, mántu máli máli málino, mánnu máliton málon
present indicative II affirmative present indicative I + imperfective of én
past indicative I lúk + perfective of én
past indicative II lúk + perfective of sugé
present
potential
affirmative liyóm takkéh litóm takkéh lém takkéh lém takkéh linóm takkéh litoonúm takkéh loonúm takkéh
past
conditional
affirmative lúk + past conditional of sugé
-h converb -k converb -in(n)uh converb infinitive
líh lúk línnuh líyya

Derived terms

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN, page 284

Albanian

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Jussive particle le (let) corresponds with 2nd person/singular Aorist form of Albanian (to let/leave (go/behind)); le (you let/left (go/behind)). From Proto-Albanian *laide (let).[1] Identical to Baltic permissive and optative particles Latvian lai (to let), Lithuanian laĩ, Old Prussian -lai.[2][3][4][5]

Cognate to Albanian lihem (to be left; allowed) (Standard & Tosk), Gheg Albanian lêhem, lêna (passive forms of active ).[6][7]

Verb

[edit]

le (aorist láshë, participle lënë)

  1. second-person singular aorist active indicative of
  2. second-person singular aorist passive indicative of lihem

Particle

[edit]

le (+)

  1. (jussive) let
    Jussive modal particle used before verbs. A gentle way to express orders, instructions or to ask for approval/permission. Jussive construction:
    1. jussive particle → le (let)
    2. + subjunctive particle → (it)
    3. + → subjunctive verb form (present, imperfect, perfect or past perfect). See also (*) for irregular verbs.
    Examples: third-person singular present active jussive of marr:
    le (let) + + marrë (take)
    le të marrëlet it take
    third-person singular present passive jussive of merrem:
    le (let) + + merret (deal (with))
    le të merretlet it deal (with)
    third-person singular present active jussive of shkoj:
    le (let) + + shkojë (go)
    le të shkojëlet him go
    third-person plural present active jussive of shkoj:
    le (let) + + shkojnë (go)
    le të shkojnëlet them go
    third-person singular present active jussive of flas:
    le (let) + + flasë (talk; speak)
    le të flasëlet him talk
    third-person plural present active jussive of flas:
    le (let) + + flasin (talk; speak)
    le të flasinlet them talk
    (*) Irregular verb:
    indicative/present → subjunctive/present
    ësh (“is”) → je (“be”)
    Example: third-person singular present active jussive of jam:
    le (let) + (it) + jetë (be)
    lejetëlet it be
  2. (subjunctive) + (that) → subjunctive: not only that; if only; would that
    Le që...Not only that...
  3. (Gheg, subjunctive) → mostly + se (that) instead of (id): not only that; if only; would that
    Le se...Not only that...

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “le”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 215
  2. ^ Camarda, Demetrio (1864) Saggio di grammatologia comparata sulla lingua albanese (in Italian), Livorno: Successore di Egisto Vignozzi, page 255
  3. ^ Gjergj Pekmezi (1908) Grammar of the Albanian language, transl., Grammatik der albanesischen Sprache (in German), Albanesicher Verein Dija (Albanian Association Dija), Wien - Austria, pages 76-77
  4. ^ Ernst Fraenkel (1962) Lithuanian Etymological Dictionary, transl., Litauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), C. Winter, page 329
  5. ^ Çabej, Eqrem (1976) “le”, in Studime Gjuhësore II, Studime Etimologjike në Fushë të Shqipes, Prishtinë: Rilindja, page 3120
  6. ^ Mann, Stuart E. (1977) An Albanian Historical Grammar[1], Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, →ISBN, page 137
  7. ^ Stuart Edward Mann (1932) A Short Albanian Grammar with Vocabularies, and Selected Passages for Reading, D. Nutt (A.G. Berry), pages 34, 40

Further reading

[edit]
  • Oda Buchholz, Wilfried Fiedler, Gerda Uhlisch (2000) Langenscheidt Handwörterbuch Albanisch, Langenscheidt Verlag, →ISBN, page 273 (juss. particle ¹le / ²le (+ ) → subjunc. / verb ³le 2nd p./sg. aor. of )
  • [7] jussive particle le (engl. let) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)
  • [8] conjugation active verb (e kryera e thjeshtë (engl. Aorist): 1st/sg) lashë; (2nd/sg) le; (3rd/sg) la; (1st/pl) lamë; (2nd/pl) latë; (3rd/pl) lanë) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Proto-Albanian *laida, an ostensibly o-grade thematic present from the root *leyd- (to let go, release).

Verb

[edit]

le needs inflection

  1. (dialectal) to give birth, bear
    Synonyms: lej, lind
    lehetis born
    u leto be born
[edit]

References

[edit]
  • Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “lej”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 217
  • AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 56: “nascere” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it

Aragonese

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin ille (that one).

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. (to) him (indirect object)

Synonyms

[edit]

Bourguignon

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin ille.

Article

[edit]

le (alternative form lou, feminine lai, plural les)

  1. the

Breton

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

le ? (plural leou)

  1. vow

Chinese

[edit]
A user has added this entry to requests for verification(+)
If it cannot be verified that this term meets our attestation criteria, it will be deleted. Feel free to edit this entry as normal, but do not remove {{rfv}} until the request has been resolved.

Etymology

[edit]

From English lesbian.

Pronunciation

[edit]
This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Mandarin”

Noun

[edit]

le

  1. (China, Internet slang) lesbian

Cornish

[edit]

From Proto-Brythonic *lleɣ, from Proto-Celtic *legyom. Cognate to Welsh lle and Breton lec'h.

Noun

[edit]

le m (plural leow)

  1. place, location
    Pur vysi yw an le ma der an hav.
    This place is very busy through the summer.
  2. space, seat
    Eus le yn an park kerri na?
    Is there a space in that car park?
    Res yw dhywgh ragerghi le rag an kyttrin leel.
    You need to book a seat for the local bus.

Derived terms

[edit]
  • leel (local)
  • leelieth (localism)
  • yn le (instead of, in place of, in lieu of)

Corsican

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin illae, feminine plural of ille (that), from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian le (the, them) and French les (the, them).

Article

[edit]

le

  1. Archaic form of e.

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. Archaic form of e.

References

[edit]

Dalmatian

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin illae, nominative feminine plural of ille.

Article

[edit]

le f pl

  1. the
[edit]

Danish

[edit]
En le – a scythe.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Old Norse (scythe), from Proto-Germanic *lewô, cognate with Norwegian ljå and Swedish lie.

Noun

[edit]

le c (singular definite leen, plural indefinite leer)

  1. scythe (farm tool)
Inflection
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Old Norse hlæja, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, cognate with English laugh and German lachen.

Verb

[edit]

le (imperative le, present ler, past lo, past participle leet or let)

  1. to laugh (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face and emission of sounds)
Conjugation
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Fala

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin illī.

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. Third person dative pronoun; to him, to her, to it, to them

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Takes the form -li when suffixed to an impersonal verb form.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)[9], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Franco-Provençal

[edit]

Determiner

[edit]

le (ORB, broad)

  1. Alternative form of lo

Pronoun

[edit]

le (ORB, broad)

  1. Alternative form of lo

References

[edit]
  • le [1] in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
  • le in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle French le, from Old French le, from Latin illum, by dropping il- and -m. Latin illum is the accusative singular of ille.[1]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les, prevocalic masculine or feminine singular l’)

  1. the (definite article)
    Le lait du matin.The milk of the morning.
  2. Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English.
    L’amour est aveugle.
    Love is blind.
  3. Used before the names of most countries, many subnational regions, and other geographical names including names of lakes and streets; not translated into English in most cases.
    Je vais visiter le Canada l’année prochaine, surtout l’Ontario et le Québec.
    I will be visiting Canada next year, especially Ontario and Quebec.
    La place Rouge se trouve au cœur de Moscou.
    Red Square is located in the heart of Moscow.
  4. (before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc.
    Il s’est cassé la jambe.He has broken his leg.
  5. (before units) a, an, per
    cinquante kilomètres à l’heurefifty kilometres an hour
    trois dollars le morceauthree dollars per piece
  6. (before dates) on
    Je suis née le 1er juillet 1967.I was born on July 1, 1967.

Usage notes

[edit]
  • le becomes l’ before a vowel or an unaspirated h.
    l’amourlove
    l’endroitthe place
    l’hommethe man
  • When the article le is preceded by the prepositions de or à, *de le or *à le is not used (except dialectally); instead, it is contracted into du or au, respectively. Likewise, *de les and *à les are replaced by des and aux (except dialectally). However, la may be preceded by de and à.
    Il a une cicatrice au visage.He has a scar on the face. / He has a scar on his face.
  • *de le and *à le become de l' and à l' respectively in front of a vowel or an unaspirated h.

Pronoun

[edit]

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

  1. (direct object) him, it
    Où est Malik ? Je ne le vois pas.
    Where is Malik? I don't see him.
    Mon sac ? Je vais le mettre dans la voiture.
    My bag? I'm going to put it in the car.
  2. used to refer to something previously mentioned or implied; not translated in English
    Je suis petit et lui, il l’est aussi.I am small and he is too (literally, “... and he is it too”)

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Unlike the definite article le, the pronouns le and les may be preceded by the prepositions de and à: Je cherchais à le voir.I was trying to see him.

Derived terms

[edit]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Dauzat, Albert with Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand (1964) “le, la, les”, in Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique (in French), Paris: Librairie Larousse

Further reading

[edit]

Friulian

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le (third person feminine direct object)

  1. her
[edit]

Fula

[edit]

Particle

[edit]

le

  1. (Pular, Maasina) as for, truly
    aan le?
    and as for you?
    (Maasina)
    O yahii le!
    He really left!
    (Pular)

References

[edit]

Galician

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le

  1. inflection of ler:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Garifuna

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le

  1. masculine definite article
    Mutu leThe man

Antonyms

[edit]

Hungarian

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

le (comparative lejjebb)

  1. down

Usage notes

[edit]

This term may also be part of the split form of a verb prefixed with le-, occurring when the main verb does not follow the prefix directly. It can be interpreted only with the related verb form, irrespective of its position in the sentence, e.g. meg tudták volna nézni (they could have seen it, from megnéz). For verbs with this prefix, see le-; for an overview, Appendix:Hungarian verbal prefixes.

Further reading

[edit]
  • le in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Anagrams

[edit]

Ido

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Borrowed from Italian le.

Article

[edit]

le (plural)

  1. the (used only when there is no other sign of plurality, for example with nominalized adjectives)
    Yen pomi, prenez le bona e lasez le mala.
    Here's apples, take the good ones and leave the bad ones.
See also
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

From l +‎ -e.

Noun

[edit]

le (plural le-i)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter L/l.
See also
[edit]

Interlingua

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le

  1. the

Usage notes

[edit]
  • de le is contracted into del.
  • a le is contracted into al.

Pronoun

[edit]

le m (plural les)

  1. him (direct object)
    Io le appella mi amico.I call him my friend.

Irish

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From a conflation of two Early Modern Irish prepositions:

  1. re (to), from Old Irish fri, from Proto-Celtic *writ- (compare Welsh wrth, prefix gwrth-), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (to turn) (compare Latin versus (against)).
  2. le (with), from Old Irish la, from Proto-Celtic *let-, from Proto-Celtic *letos (side) (compare leath, Welsh lled).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Preposition

[edit]

le (plus dative, triggers h-prothesis, before the definite article leis)

  1. with
    le héadachwith clothing
  2. used in conjunction with the copula particle is and a noun to indicate possession
    Is liomsa an hata.
    The hat is mine; the hat belongs to me.
    Is le Cáit an peann luaidhe.
    The pencil is Cáit’s; the pencil belongs to Cáit.
  3. (in conjunction with the copula particle is and an adjective) in the opinion of, in the consideration of
    Is beag liom an cheist.
    The issue is unimportant to me/in my opinion.
  4. to (indicating purpose; in this sense triggering eclipsis of vowel-initial verbal nouns)
    rud le n-ithesomething to eat
    oiriúnach le n-ólfit to drink
    ró-the le n-óltoo hot to drink
    Cé mhéad atá le n-íoc?
    How much does it cost?
    (literally, “How much is to pay?”)
  5. to (after a verb of speaking)
  6. in order to
    Synonyms: chun, d'fhonn
    le rud a dhéanamhin order to do a thing

Inflection

[edit]

Quotations

[edit]
  • Níl sé ina lá (Irish traditional song):
    Is é dúirt sí liom “ní bhfaighidh tú deor.
    Buail an bóthar is gabh abhaile.”
    And what she said to me was, “you won’t get a drop.
    Hit the road and go home.”

Derived terms

[edit]

See Category:Irish phrasal verbs formed with "le"

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Italian

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /le/
  • Rhymes: -e
  • Hyphenation: le

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Latin illae, which is the nominative plural feminine of ille.[1] Cognate with Sicilian li~i.

Article

[edit]
Italian Definite Articles
singular plural
masculine il
lo/l'
i
gli
feminine  la/l' le

le f pl (singular la)

  1. the
Usage notes
[edit]
  • Contrary to la, le does not elide before words that begin with a vowel:
    le amiche(the female) friends

Pronoun

[edit]

le f pl (masculine li, singular la)

  1. (accusative) them (third-person plural feminine)
    Le ho viste.I saw them.
Usage notes
[edit]
  • Never elides.
  • Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).
Alternative forms
[edit]
See also
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Vulgar Latin *illae, a nonstandard form of Latin illī (dative singular of illa). The ae in illae is modelled under influence of the dative case for first-declension feminine nouns, e.g. Classical Latin puellae. Cognate with Sicilian ci.

Pronoun

[edit]

le f (plural gli)

  1. (dative) her, to her
    Synonym: (informal) gli
    Le ho detto che la amo.I told her that I love her.
    Le ho dato la lettera.I gave her the letter.
  2. (dative) you, to you (term of respect)
    Non le ho detto il mio nome.I didn't tell you my name.
    Le ho dato la lettera.I gave you the letter.
Usage notes
[edit]
  • In formal writing, when le is used as term of respect it is usually capitalised/capitalized as Le to avoid confusion with le (her).
  • In informal contexts often replaced with gli, especially in spoken language.
  • Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).
  • Never elides.
Alternative forms
[edit]
See also
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Patota, Giuseppe (2002) Lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano (in Italian), Bologna: il Mulino, →ISBN, page 127

Anagrams

[edit]

Japanese

[edit]

Romanization

[edit]

le

  1. Rōmaji transcription of れ゚
  2. Rōmaji transcription of レ゚

Maltese

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Arabic لَا (). Cognate with Hebrew לא ().

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

le

  1. no
    Synonym: leqq (colloquial)
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Mandarin

[edit]

Romanization

[edit]

le (le5le0, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄜ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of
  2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of

le

  1. Nonstandard spelling of .
  2. Nonstandard spelling of .

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mauritian Creole

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From French le.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le

  1. (definite) the

Meriam

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Rotuman.

Noun

[edit]

le

  1. person

Middle French

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Old French le, from Latin illum.

Article

[edit]

le m (feminine la, masculine and feminine plural les)

  1. the

Descendants

[edit]
  • French: le

Neapolitan

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. Alternative form of 'e

Coordinate terms

[edit]
Number Person Nominative Accusative Dative Reflexive Possessive Prepositional
singular first-person io (i') me mìo, mìa, mieje, meje me, méne
second-person, familiar tu te tùjo, tòja, tùoje, tòje te, téne
second-person, formal vuje ve vuósto, vósta, vuóste, vóste vuje
third-person, masculine ìsso 'o, 'u (lo, lu) 'i, 'e (li, le) se sùjo, sòja, sùoje, sòje ìsso
third-person, feminine éssa 'a (la) 'e (le) éssa
plural first-person nuje ce nuósto, nòsta, nuóste, nòste nuje
second-person, plural vuje ve vuósto, vòsta, vuóste, vòste vuje
third-person, masculine ìsse 'i, 'e (li, le) llòro se llòro (invariable) llòro
third-person, feminine llòro 'e (le)

Norwegian Bokmål

[edit]
Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Old Norse hlé.

Adjective

[edit]

le (indeclinable)

  1. lee or leeward (side)

Noun

[edit]

le n

  1. lee (sheltered or leeward side)
  2. shelter

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Old Norse hlæja (to laugh), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (to shout).

Verb

[edit]

le (imperative le, present tense ler, passive -, simple past lo, past participle ledd, present participle leende)

  1. to laugh

References

[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Old Norse hlæja (to laugh),[1] from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną, from the Proto-Indo-European root *klel-, *kleg- (to shout). Akin to English laugh.

Alternative forms

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le (present tense ler, past tense lo, supine ledd or lett, past participle ledd, present participle leande, imperative le)

  1. (intransitive) to laugh
Derived terms
[edit]
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Old Norse hlé.[1] Akin to English lee.

Noun

[edit]

le n (definite singular leet, indefinite plural le, definite plural lea)

  1. lee (sheltered or leeward side)
  2. shelter

Adjective

[edit]

le (indeclinable)

  1. lee or leeward (side)

Etymology 3

[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

[edit]

le

  1. imperative of lea

References

[edit]
  1. 1.0 1.1 “le” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
  2. ^ Ivar Aasen (1850) “læ”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog[2] (in Danish), Oslo: Samlaget, published 2000
  3. ^ Ivar Aasen (1850) “læja”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog[3] (in Danish), Oslo: Samlaget, published 2000

Anagrams

[edit]

Old French

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]
  • lo (9th century in The Sequence of Saint Eulalia and 10th century in La Vie de Saint Léger)

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin illum.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le

  1. the (masculine singular oblique definite article)
  2. (Picardy, Anglo-Norman) the (feminine singular definite article)

Usage notes

[edit]

When coming after en, the two words combine into el.

Inflection

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. it (masculine singular object pronoun)

Descendants

[edit]
  • Middle French: le
    • French: le

Anagrams

[edit]

Old Polish

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *le.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /lʲɛ/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /lʲɛ/

Conjunction

[edit]

le

  1. but
    • 1874-1891 [15th century], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności[10], [11], [12], volume XXII, page 60:
      *Nyą raczy mą zapomneczi, le mą raczy szobe przypyszaczy
      [Nie raczy mię zapomnieci, le mię raczy sobie przypisaci]
  2. only
    • 1874-1891 [Middle of the 15th century], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności[13], [14], [15], volume XXII, page 235:
      Bo yako gymyenya wyeloscz a czczi tego swyata nabiczye cziny ludzi nadąte a pischne, tako potąpyenye a vbostwo, le skromne, czini vbogye duchem
      [Bo jako jimienia wielość a czci tego świata nabycie czyni ludzi nadęte a pyszne, tako potępienie a ubostwo, le skromne, czyni ubogie duchem]
  3. that is, namely
    • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa[16], page 546:
      Gorze temv, lye duschy y czyalv ktorego..., yen nye zdradzyl
      [Gorze temu, le duszy i ciału [ktorego] [tego]..., jen mnie zdradził]
    • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa[17], page 599:
      Iesus... dluzey począl szye modlycz, lye przeto dluzey szye modly, yze blyzey ku smyerczy ydzye
      [Jesus... dłużej począł sie modlić, le przeto dłużej sie modli, iże bliżej ku śmierci idzie]
[edit]
conjunction

Descendants

[edit]
  • Middle Polish: le

References

[edit]
  • B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “le”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Phalura

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Determiner

[edit]

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

  1. that, this (agr: dist fem / dist non-nom masc)

References

[edit]
  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “le”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[18], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 2

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Determiner

[edit]

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

  1. those, these (agr: dist)

References

[edit]
  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “le”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[19], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 3

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

  1. that one
  2. it
  3. she (dist fem nom)

References

[edit]
  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “le”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[20], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Etymology 4

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

  1. those ones
  2. these ones
  3. they (dist nom)

References

[edit]
  • Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “le”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[21], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Pnar

[edit]
Pnar cardinal numbers
 <  2 3 4  > 
    Cardinal : le
    Ordinal : wa le

Etymology

[edit]

From Proto-Khasian *laːj. Cognate with Khasi lai. Compare Proto-Palaungic *ləʔɔːj (whence Blang [La Gang] lɔ́j) and Car Nicobarese lōe.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Numeral

[edit]

le

  1. (cardinal number) three

Romanian

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin illīs, dative common plural of ille.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le m (unstressed dative form of ei)

  1. (indirect object, third-person masculine plural) to them (all-male or mixed group)

Pronoun

[edit]

le f (unstressed dative form of ele)

  1. (indirect object, third-person feminine plural) to them (all-female group)

Pronoun

[edit]

le m (unstressed accusative form of ele)

  1. (direct object, third-person feminine plural) them (all-female group)
[edit]
  • lor (stressed dative of ei and ele)
  • ele (stressed accusative of ele)
  • îl (unstressed dative of el (singular))
  • îi (unstressed dative of ea (singular) and unstressed accusative of ei (masculine))
  • o (unstressed accusative of ea (singular))

Samoan

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le

  1. the (the definite article)

Usage notes

[edit]

Only in the singular. Sometimes used where the indefinite article would be used in English.

See also

[edit]

Scottish Gaelic

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Old Irish la. Cognates include Irish le and Manx lesh.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /le/
  • Hyphenation: le

Preposition

[edit]

le (+ dative, no mutation, before the definite article leis)

  1. with
  2. by
  3. down
    Thuit e leis a' chreig.He fell down the rock.
    deòir a' ruith leis a h-aodanntears running down her face

Usage notes

[edit]
  • When referring to being with people, còmhla ri is preferred to le by many speakers.

Inflection

[edit]
Personal inflection of le
Number Person Simple Emphatic
Singular 1st leam leamsa
2nd leat leatsa
3rd m leis leis-san
3rd f leatha leathase
Plural 1st leinn leinne
2nd leibh leibhse
3rd leotha leothasan

Serbo-Croatian

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

le (Cyrillic spelling ле)

  1. (archaic) only
[edit]

Slovene

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

  1. only, merely, just
    • 2024, Raiven (lyrics and music), “Veronika”:
      Tvojo resnico le ona ve.
      Only she knows your truth.

Further reading

[edit]
  • le”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024

Southern Ndebele

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Spanish

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin illī, dative of ille.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

le m or f by sense

  1. to him, for him; dative of él
    Mi mamá va a escribirle una carta.
    My mom is going to write him a letter.
  2. to her, for her; dative of ella
    Le dio un beso a Ana.
    He gave Ana a kiss.
  3. to it, for it; dative of ello
    ¡Ponle esfuerzo!
    Put some effort into it!
  4. to you, for you (formal); dative of usted
    ¿A usted le gustan los caballos?
    Do you like horses?
  5. (leísmo, dialectal) you (formal); accusative of usted
    Synonyms: lo, la
    Ana, ¿necesita que le ayude en algo?
    Ana, do you need me to help you with anything?
  6. (leísmo, dialectal) him; accusative of él
    Synonym: lo
    Él es mi amigo, le conozco desde pequeño.
    He is my friend, I know him since he was little.
  7. (leísmo, dialectal, proscribed except in impersonal sentences with "se") it; accusative of ello
    Synonym: (when proscribed) lo
    Se le conoce como la ciudad que nunca duerme. [non-proscribed]
    They know it as the City That Never Sleeps.
    ¿Te gusta mi auto? Le compré con mis ahorros. [proscribed]
    Do you like my car? I bought it with my savings.
  8. (leísmo, dialectal, proscribed except in impersonal sentences with "se") her; accusative of ella
    Synonym: (when proscribed) la
    Se le conoce como la Reina del Pop. [non-proscribed]
    They know her as the Queen of Pop.
    Ayer le vi cenando en un restaurante. [proscribed]
    Yesterday I saw her dining at a restaurant.

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Though le is usually the indirect object form of the direct object pronouns lo/la, it is often used in Spain as a direct object as well...e.g., yo le amo (I love him). This phenomenon is known as leísmo.
  • Note that when a sentence contains a noun that is an indirect object, a redundant indirect object le (or its plural form les) is also required; for example yo le daré el libro a Jorge (literally I will give him the book to Jorge), where him/le corresponds to Jorge. This type of pronoun is obligatory. Both of the object pronouns le and les become se when followed by the direct object lo/la/los/las; hence, yo se lo daré (I will give it to him/her/them) rather than *yo le/les lo daré.

Pronoun

[edit]

le gender-neutral

  1. (gender-neutral, neologism) to them, for them (singular); dative of elle
    Le diré que te llame.
    I will tell them to call you.

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Swahili

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

-le (declinable)

  1. that (distal demonstrative adjective)

Inflection

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Swedish

[edit]
Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
en leende flicka [a smiling girl]

Etymology

[edit]

From Old Swedish lēia, lea, from Old Norse hlæja (to laugh), from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le (present ler, preterite log, supine lett, imperative le)

  1. to smile
    Hon log brett
    She smiled broadly
  2. (obsolete) to laugh
    Synonym: skratta

Conjugation

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]
[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]

Tarantino

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Article

[edit]

le m pl or f pl

  1. the

Turkish

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

le

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter L/l.

See also

[edit]

Vietnamese

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Proto-Vietic *k-lɛː (bamboo). Doublet of tre.

Noun

[edit]

(classifier cây) le

  1. a plant in the rice family, which grows in forests and has a shape similar to bamboo

Etymology 2

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

(classifier con) le (𪅆)

  1. (obsolete) lesser whistling duck
    • Nam Giao cổ kim lý hạng ca dao chú giải 南交古金里巷歌謠註解 ("Old and new folk-ballads from the hamlets and alleys in Nanjiao, annotated and explained"), 151a
      𡥵𪅆奴𣵰𡥵𪂮奴𱝩
      Con le nó lặn; con cò nó bay.
      The lesser whistling duck dives; the stork flies.
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 3

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le

  1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) Alternative form of (to loll (tongue); to put out)

Etymology 4

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

le

  1. (rare) Alternative form of (very)

Etymology 5

[edit]

Conjunction

[edit]

le

  1. (archaic) but; however
Derived terms
[edit]

Welsh

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

le

  1. Soft mutation of lle.

Adverb

[edit]

le

  1. (South Wales, colloquial) where
    Le ma'r tŷ bach?
    Where's the loo?

Synonyms

[edit]

Mutation

[edit]
Mutated forms of lle
radical soft nasal aspirate
lle le unchanged unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Xhosa

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

  1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

[edit]

Pronoun

[edit]

  1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Yoruba

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

  1. (auxiliary, defective) to be able, can, to be possible
    Ó gbọ́ Yorùbá.She can understand Yoruba.
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le

  1. to be hard in texture, to be difficult
    Iṣẹ́ náà le bí ojú ẹja.The work is as hard as a fish's eye.
  2. (idiomatic) to be healthy, to be in good health
    Synonym:
    ṣe ará le o?Are you in good health?
Synonyms
[edit]
Yoruba Varieties and Languages - le (to be difficult, hard)
view map; edit data
Language FamilyVariety GroupVariety/LanguageLocationWords
Proto-Itsekiri-SEYSoutheast YorubaÌjẹ̀búÌjẹ̀bú Òdeni
Ìkòròdúni
Ṣágámùni
Ẹ̀pẹ́ni
UsẹnUsẹnle
ÌtsẹkírìÌwẹrẹni
OlùkùmiUgbódùni
Proto-YorubaNorthwest YorubaÀwórìÈbúté Mẹ́tàle
ÈkóÈkóle
ÌbàdànÌbàdànle
ÌbàràpáIgbó Òràle
Ìbọ̀lọ́Òṣogbole
ÌlọrinÌlọrinle
OǹkóÌtẹ̀síwájú LGAle
Ìwàjówà LGAle
Kájọlà LGAle
Ìsẹ́yìn LGAle
Ṣakí West LGAle
Atisbo LGAle
Ọlọ́runṣògo LGAle
Ọ̀yọ́Ọ̀yọ́le
Standard YorùbáNàìjíríàle
Bɛ̀nɛ̀le
Northeast Yoruba/OkunOwéKabbale
Ede Languages/Southwest YorubaIfɛ̀Akpáréle
Atakpaméle
Est-Monole
Tchettile
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 3

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le

  1. to have a strong taste
    Ọtí yìí le.This beer is strong.
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 4

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

le

  1. to have an erection (of the penis)
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 5

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

  1. (transitive) to exceed in number
  2. to yield interest
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 6

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

  1. (intransitive) to appear distinctly
Derived terms
[edit]
  • Alébíoṣù (A Yoruba nickname meaning, "One that appears very distinctly like the moon.")
  • léfòó

Etymology 7

[edit]

Preposition

[edit]

  1. on, on top of, after
    Wọ́n bí Àlàbá Ìdòwú.Alaba was born right after Idowu.
Usage notes
[edit]

When a word is homophonous with the verb 'lé'; it always occurs in a non-V1 position.

Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 8

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

  1. (transitive) to pursue, to chase
    Wọ́n e nílèékulèé, òun náà sàsàákúsàá.They pursued him relentlessly, and he also ran relentlessly.
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 9

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

  1. (transitive) to become swollen
    Synonyms: ,
Derived terms
[edit]

Zou

[edit]

Conjunction

[edit]

le

  1. and

References

[edit]

Zulu

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.
Inflection
[edit]
Stem -lé
Full form
Locative kule
Full form
Locative kule
Copulative yile
Possessive forms
Modifier Substantive
Class 1 wale owale
Class 2 bale abale
Class 3 wale owale
Class 4 yale eyale
Class 5 lale elale
Class 6 ale awale
Class 7 sale esale
Class 8 zale ezale
Class 9 yale eyale
Class 10 zale ezale
Class 11 lwale olwale
Class 14 bale obale
Class 15 kwale okwale
Class 17 kwale okwale

Etymology 2

[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronoun

[edit]

le

  1. this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.
Inflection
[edit]
Stem -lé
Full form
Locative kule
Full form
Locative kule
Copulative yile
Possessive forms
Modifier Substantive
Class 1 wale owale
Class 2 bale abale
Class 3 wale owale
Class 4 yale eyale
Class 5 lale elale
Class 6 ale awale
Class 7 sale esale
Class 8 zale ezale
Class 9 yale eyale
Class 10 zale ezale
Class 11 lwale olwale
Class 14 bale obale
Class 15 kwale okwale
Class 17 kwale okwale

References

[edit]