als

See also: Als, ALS, ALs, åls, al's, and -āls

English

Noun

als

  1. plural of al

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Contraction of a (“to, at”) els (“the (masculine plural)”)

Contraction

als

  1. to the, at the, toward the the (masculine plural)

Cornish

Alternative forms

  • (Standard Cornish) âls

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɒlz/, /ælz/

Noun

als f (plural alsyow)

  1. (Standard Written Form) cliff

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch alse, an unstressed form of also (modern alzo).

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɑls
  • IPA(key): /ɑ(l)s/
  • audio(file)

Conjunction

als

  1. (subordinating) if, when
    Als je die knop indrukt, gaat de computer uit.
    If you push that button, the computer will turn off.
  2. when, as soon as
    Als het regent worden alle daken nat.
    When it rains all the roofs get wet.

Preposition

als

  1. like, as
    Hij huilde als een kind.
    He cried like a baby.
  2. even ... als: as ... as
    Hij is even groot als jij.
    He is as tall as you.
  3. (dialect) than
    Hij is groter als gij. (standard Dutch: hij is groter dan jij)
    He is bigger than you.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Anagrams

German

Etymology

From Old High German also, alsō (“as, like”), equivalent to all + so.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /als/, [als], [alts]
  • audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -als, -alts
  • Homophone: Alls

Conjunction

als

  1. (subordinating, referring to something [thought of as] in the past) at the same moment; when; while; as
    Als er ankam, öffnete sie die Tür.
    When he arrived, she opened the door.
    Als er ankommt, öffnet sie die Tür.
    When he arrives, she opens the door. (e.g. in a renarration)
  2. (after comparative) than
    Zwei ist größer als eins.
    Two is greater than one.
  3. as; like; in the function of; in the form of
    Als Polizist muss ich es tun.
    As a policeman, I must do it.
  4. as if
    • 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Aus dem Lande der Ostseeritter, in Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun., page 100:
      Es war als rängen beständig zwei Mächte um sie, als würde sie wehrlos von ihnen hin und her gerissen.
      It was as if two powers struggled over her continuously, as if she was torn to and fro by them defenselessly.
  5. (after negative pronoun) but
    • 1918, Meinrad Lienert, Zürcher Sagen:
      Doch die zwei Königstöchter Hildegard und Berta gewahrten nichts als den weissen Hirsch […].
      But the two princesses Hildegard and Berta saw nothing but the white hart.

Usage notes

  • Als in the sense of “than” is followed by that case according to the grammatical context of the sentence. It may be semantically relevant:
Sie liebt das Kind mehr als ihr Mann. (nominative) — “She loves the child more than her husband does.”
Sie liebt das Kind mehr als ihren Mann. (accusative) — “She loves the child more than she loves her husband.”
  • Als in the sense of “as, like” is claimed by some traditional grammars to require the nominative case: Er verkleidet sich als spanischer Stierkämpfer. (“He dresses himself up as a Spanish bullfighter.”) it may indeed be the most common usage in reflexive constructions, such as in the example given (although als spanischen Stierkämpfer is acceptable). The mechanical use of the nominative, however, is often ungrammatical by any standards of common usage: Sie kannte ihn schon als jungen Mann (“She knew him already as a young man”; the nominative als *junger Mann would be odd and indeed would suggest the meaning that she knew him when she was a young man). Thus, the same general rule applies as given under (1).

Synonyms

  • (after comparative: than): dann

Gothic

Romanization

als

  1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌻𐍃

Icelandic

Noun

als

  1. indefinite genitive singular of alur

Luxembourgish

Conjunction

als

  1. as
    Hatt schafft als Polizistin an engem klengen Duerf.
    She works as a policewoman in a little village.

Old French

Alternative forms

Contraction

als

  1. Contraction of a + les (to the)

Swedish

Noun

als

  1. indefinite genitive singular of al
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