le

See also: Appendix:Variations of "le"

Languages (54)

Afar • Albanian • Aragonese • Bourguignon • Breton • Chinese • Cornish • Corsican • Dalmatian • Danish • Fala • Franco-Provençal • French • Friulian • Fula • Galician • Garifuna • Hungarian • Ido • Interlingua • Irish • Italian • Japanese • Ladino • Maltese • Mandarin • Mauritian Creole • Meriam • Middle French • Neapolitan • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old French • Old Polish • Phalura • Pnar • Romanian • Samoan • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Slovene • Southern Ndebele • Spanish • Swahili • Swedish • Tarantino • Turkish • Vietnamese • Welsh • Xhosa • Yoruba • Zou • Zulu

Page categories

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French le (“the”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lə/

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

(especially US) IPA^(key): /leɪ/
(rare) IPA^(key): /liː/
- Audio (US): (file)
(emulating Parisian French) IPA^(key): /lø/
Rhymes: -ə, -eɪ, -iː
Homophones: luh (with /ə/), lay, lei, ley (with /eɪ/), lea, Lea, Lee, leigh, Leigh, li (with /iː/)

Article

le

(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

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.

Derived terms

le sigh

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old French lez (“side”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lə/, /li/, (sometimes) /leɪ/

Preposition

le

(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

-el, EL, El, el

Afar

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈle/ [ˈlɛ]

Verb

lé

(transitive) have

Conjugation

Conjugation of le (irregular)
		1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular		1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
		1st singular	2nd singular	m	f	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
present indicative I	V-affirmative	liyóh	litóh	léh	léh	linóh	litoonúh	loonúh
	N-affirmative	liyó	litó	lé	lé	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

References

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

Albanian

Etymology 1

Jussive particle le (“let”) corresponds with 2nd person/singular Aorist form of Albanian lë (“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 lai̇̃, 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 lë).^[6]^[7]

Verb

le (aorist láshë, participle lënë)

second-person singular aorist active indicative of lë
second-person singular aorist passive indicative of lihem

Particle

le (+)

(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 → të (“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”) + të + marrë (“take”)

le të marrë ― let it take

third-person singular present passive jussive of merrem:
le (“let”) + të + merret (“deal (with)”)

le të merret ― let it deal (with)

third-person singular present active jussive of shkoj:
le (“let”) + të + shkojë (“go”)

le të shkojë ― let him go

third-person plural present active jussive of shkoj:
le (“let”) + të + shkojnë (“go”)

le të shkojnë ― let them go

third-person singular present active jussive of flas:
le (“let”) + të + flasë (“talk; speak”)

le të flasë ― let him talk

third-person plural present active jussive of flas:
le (“let”) + të + flasin (“talk; speak”)

le të flasin ― let them talk

(*) Irregular verb:
indicative/present → subjunctive/present

është (“is”) → jetë (“be”)

Example: third-person singular present active jussive of jam:
le (“let”) + të (“it”) + jetë (“be”)

le të jetë ― let it be
(subjunctive) + që (“that”) → subjunctive: not only that; if only; would that
Le që... ― Not only that...
(Gheg, subjunctive) → mostly + se (“that”) instead of që (“id”): not only that; if only; would that
Le se... ― Not only that...

References

^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998), “le”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 215
^ Camarda, Demetrio (1864), Saggio di grammatologia comparata sulla lingua albanese (in Italian), Livorno: Successore di Egisto Vignozzi, page 255
^ 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
^ Ernst Fraenkel (1962), Lithuanian Etymological Dictionary, transl., Litauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), C. Winter, page 329
^ Çabej, Eqrem (1976), “le”, in Studime Gjuhësore II, Studime Etimologjike në Fushë të Shqipes, Prishtinë: Rilindja, page 3120
^ Mann, Stuart E. (1977), An Albanian Historical Grammar‎^[1], Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, →ISBN, page 137
^ Stuart Edward Mann (1932), A Short Albanian Grammar with Vocabularies, and Selected Passages for Reading, D. Nutt (A.G. Berry), pages 34, 40

Etymology 2

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

Verb

le needs inflection

(dialectal) to give birth, bear
Synonyms: lej, lind

lehet ― is born

u le ― to be born

Related terms

lej, lind

References

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

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

le

(to) him (indirect object)

Synonyms

li

Bourguignon

Alternative forms

lou

Etymology

From Latin ille.

Article

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

the

Breton

Noun

le ? (plural leou)

vow

Chinese

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Etymology

From English lesbian.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

le

(China, Internet slang) lesbian

Cornish

Etymology 1

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

Noun

le m (plural leow)

place, location, venue
Pur vysi yw an le ma der an hav.
This place is very busy through the summer.
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.
situation

Derived terms

dhe bub le (“all directions”)
entra dhe neb le, entra yn neb le (“enter some place”, verb)
le may, le mayth (“where”)
lea (“place, position, install”, verb)
leel (“local”)
leelieth (“localism”)
neb le (“anywhere, somewhere”)
pub le (“everywhere”)
py le pynag (“wherever”)
y'n kynsa le (“primarily”)
yn le (“instead, in place of, in lieu of”)
yn neb le (“anywhere”)

Etymology 2

From Middle Cornish le, from Proto-Brythonic *llaɣü (comparative of *llaɣw), from Proto-Celtic *lagyūs (comparative of *legus). Cognate with Welsh llai.

Adjective

le

comparative degree of byghan — smaller
Synonym: byghanna

Antonym: brassa
fewer, less

Derived terms

lehe (“lessen, reduce”, verb)
leheans (“reduction”)
moy po le (“more or less”)
yeth le-usys (“minority language”)

Adverb

le

fewer, less

Corsican

Etymology

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

Article

le

archaic form of e

Pronoun

le

archaic form of e

References

https://infcor.adecec.net/

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin illae, nominative feminine plural of ille.

Article

le f pl

the

Related terms

el
la
i

Danish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [leˀ]

Etymology 1

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

Noun

le c (singular definite leen, plural indefinite leer)

scythe (farm tool)

Inflection

Declension of le
common gender	singular		plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	le	leen	leer	leerne
genitive	les	leens	leers	leernes

Etymology 2

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

Verb

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

to laugh (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face and emission of sounds)

Conjugation

Conjugation of le

	active	passive
present	ler	les
past	lo	—
infinitive	le	les
imperative	le	—

	participle
present	leende
past	leet or let (auxiliary verb have)
gerund	leen

Fala

Etymology

From Latin illī.

Pronoun

le

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

Usage notes

Takes the form -li when suffixed to an impersonal verb form.

References

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

Franco-Provençal

Determiner

le (ORB, broad)

alternative form of lo

Pronoun

le (ORB, broad)

alternative form of lo

References

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

French

Etymology

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

IPA^(key): /lə/
(before a word starting with a vowel) IPA^(key): /l‿/
- Audio: (file)
(Paris) IPA^(key): /lø/
(Louisiana) IPA^(key): /l(ə)/
Rhymes: -ə

Article

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

the (definite article)
Le lait du matin. ― The milk of the morning.
Used before abstract nouns; not translated in English.
L'amour est aveugle.
Love is blind.
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.
(before parts of the body) the; my, your, etc.
Il s’est cassé la jambe. ― He has broken his leg.
(before units) a, an, per
cinquante kilomètres à l’heure ― fifty kilometres an hour

trois dollars le morceau ― three dollars per piece
(before dates) on
Je suis née le 1er juillet 1967. ― I was born on July 1, 1967.

Usage notes

le becomes l’ before a vowel or an unaspirated h.
l’amour ― love

l’endroit ― the place

l’homme ― the 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

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

(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.
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

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

Related terms

**French personal pronouns**
number	person	gender	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	locative (at)	genitive (of)	disjunctive (tonic)¹	emphatic reflexive	relative	proximal	distal
singular	first	—	je, j’	me, m’		—	—	moi	moi-même	—
	second	—	tu	te, t’		—	—	toi	toi-même	—
	third	masculine	il²	le, l’	lui	y	en	lui	lui-même	celui	celui-ci	celui-là
		feminine	elle	la, l’	lui	y	en	elle	elle-même	celle	celle-ci	celle-là
		indeterminate	on³, l’on (formal), ce⁴, c’, ça	—	—	—	—	—	—	ce	ceci	cela, ça
		reflexive	—	se, s’⁵		—	—	soi	soi-même	—
plural	first	—	nous	nous		—	—	nous	nous-mêmes	—
	second⁶	—	vous	vous		—	—	vous	vous-mêmes, vous-même⁶	—
	third	masculine	ils⁷	les	leur	y	en	eux⁷	eux-mêmes⁷	ceux	ceux-ci	ceux-là
	third	feminine	elles	les	leur	y	en	elles	elles-mêmes	celles	celles-ci	celles-là

¹ The disjunctive (tonic) forms are also used after an explicit preposition (de/d‘, à, pour, chez, dans, vers, sur, sous, ...), instead the accusative, dative, genitive, locative, or reflexive forms, where a preposition is implied.
² Il is also used as an impersonal nominative-only pronoun.
³ On can also function as a first person plural (although agreeing with third person singular verb forms).
⁴ The nominal indeterminate form ce (demonstrative) can also be used with the auxiliary verb être as a plural, instead of the proximal or distal gendered forms.
⁵ The reflexive third person singular forms (se or s’) for accusative or dative are also used as third person plural reflexive.
⁶ Vous is also used as the polite singular form, in which case the plural disjunctive tonic vous-mêmes becomes singular vous-même.
⁷ Ils, eux and eux-mêmes are also used when a group has a mixture of masculine and feminine members.

References

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

Friulian

Pronoun

le (third person feminine direct object)

her

Related terms

jê
i

Fula

Particle

le

(Pular, Maasina) as for, truly
aan le?
and as for you?
(Maasina)

O yahii le!
He really left!
(Pular)

References

Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.
Richard Smith, Urs Niggli, Dictionnaire fulfulde - anglais - français, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2016.

Galician

Verb

le

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

Garifuna

Article

le

masculine definite article
Mutu le ― The man

Antonyms

to

Hungarian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈlɛ]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -lɛ

Adverb

le (comparative lejjebb)

down

Usage notes

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.

Anagrams

el

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/, /lɛ/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian le.

Article

le (plural)

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.

Etymology 2

From l +‎ -e.

Noun

le (plural le-i)

The name of the Latin script letter L/l.

Interlingua

Article

le

the

Usage notes

de le is contracted into del.
a le is contracted into al.

Pronoun

le m (plural les)

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

Irish

Alternative forms

lé (superseded)

Etymology

From a conflation of two Early Modern Irish prepositions:

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lʲɛ/

Preposition

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

with
le héadach ― with clothing
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.
(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.
to (indicating purpose; in this sense triggering eclipsis of vowel-initial verbal nouns)
rud le n-ithe ― something to eat

oiriúnach le n-ól ― fit to drink

ró-the le n-ól ― too hot to drink

Cé mhéad atá le n-íoc?
How much does it cost?
(literally, “How much is to pay?”)
to (after a verb of speaking)
in order to
Synonyms: chun, d'fhonn

le rud a dhéanamh ― in order to do a thing

Inflection

Inflection of le
	Person:		simple	emphatic
singular	first		liom	liomsa
	second		leat	leatsa
	third	m	leis	leis-sean
	third	f	léi	léise

plural	first		linn	linne
	second		libh	libhse
	third		leo	leosan

Quotations

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

See also: Category:Irish phrasal verbs formed with "le"

Italian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/
Rhymes: -e
Hyphenation: le

Etymology 1

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

Article

le f pl (singular la)

the

Usage notes

Contrary to la, le does not elide before words that begin with a vowel:
le amiche ― (the female) friends

Inflection

Italian definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	il lo (l')	i gli
feminine	la (l')	le

Pronoun

le f pl (masculine li, singular la)

(accusative) them (third-person plural feminine)
Le ho viste. ― I saw them.

Usage notes

Never elides.
Becomes glie when followed by a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, li, le, or ne).

Alternative forms

-le (enclitic)

Etymology 2

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

le f (plural gli)

(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.
(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

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

Le

References

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

Anagrams

el

Japanese

Romanization

le

Rōmaji transcription of れ゚
Rōmaji transcription of レ゚

Ladino

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish le, from Latin illī, dative of ille.

Pronoun

le m or f by sense (Hebrew spelling לי)^[1]

(to) him, (for) him; dative of el
- 2007, Hernán Rodriguez Fisse, “Alkunya Rodrik o Rodriguez”, in El Amaneser, section 27:
  En 1923, se modernizo la identidad de las personas, pero a unos ermanos de mi Papu le metieron en el nufus la alkunya Rodrik, i a la otra mitad de la famiya, la alkunya Rodriges.
  People’s identities were modernised in 1923, but like some of my grandfather’s brothers they put him on the Rodrik surname identity card, and as for my family’s other half, the surname Rodriges.
(to) her, (for) her; dative of eya
(to) it, (for) it; dative of eyo

References

^ “le”, in Trezoro de la Lengua Djudeoespanyola [Treasure of the Judeo-Spanish Language] (in Ladino, Hebrew, and English), Instituto Maale Adumim

Maltese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɛː/

Adverb

le

no
Synonym: leqq (colloquial)

Related terms

bla
la

Mandarin

Romanization

le (le⁵ / le⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄜ)

Hanyu Pinyin reading of 了
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 餎 / 饹

le

nonstandard spelling of lē
nonstandard spelling of lè

Usage notes

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

Etymology

From French le.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lø, le/

Article

le

(definite) the

Meriam

Etymology

From Rotuman.

Noun

le

person

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French le, from Latin illum.

Article

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

the

Descendants

French: le

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/
Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

le

alternative form of 'e

Coordinate terms

Neapolitan personal pronouns
			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	m	ìsso	'o, 'u (lo, lu)	'i, 'e (li, le)	se	sùjo, sòja, sùoje, sòje	ìsso
	third person	f	éssa	'a (la)	'e (le)	se	sùjo, sòja, sùoje, sòje	éssa
plural	first person		nuje	ce			nuósto, nòsta, nuóste, nòste	nuje
	second person		vuje	ve			vuósto, vòsta, vuóste, vòste	vuje
	third person	m	ìsse	'i, 'e (li, le)	llòro	se	llòro (invariable)	llòro
	third person	f	llòro	'e (le)	llòro	se	llòro (invariable)	llòro

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

Lovart og le

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hlé.

Adjective

le (indeclinable)

lee or leeward (side)

Noun

le n

lee (sheltered or leeward side)
shelter

Etymology 2

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

Verb

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

to laugh

References

“le” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /leː/

Etymology 1

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

læ, læja (archaic or obsolete)^[2]^[3]

Verb

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

(intransitive) to laugh

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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

lee (sheltered or leeward side)
shelter

Adjective

le (indeclinable)

lee or leeward (side)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

le

imperative of lea

References

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

Anagrams

el

Old French

Alternative forms

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

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.

Proto-Italic *olnos

Old Latin olle

Latin ille

Old French le

From Latin ille.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lə/

Article

le

the (masculine singular oblique definite article)
(Picard, Anglo-Norman) the (feminine singular definite article)

Usage notes

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

Inflection

Old French definite articles
	Case	masculine	feminine
singular	subject	li	la, le ¹
singular	oblique	le ¹	la ¹
plural	subject	li	les
plural	oblique	les	les

¹ These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Pronoun

le

it (masculine singular object pronoun)

Descendants

Middle French: le
- French: le

Anagrams

el

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *le.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /lʲɛ/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /lʲɛ/

Conjunction

le

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]
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]
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]

Related terms

conjunction

ale

Descendants

Middle Polish: le

References

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

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Determiner

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

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

References

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

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Determiner

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

those, these (agr: dist)

References

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

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Pronoun

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

that one
it
she (dist fem nom)

References

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

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le, ɽe/

Pronoun

le (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling لےۡ)

those ones
these ones
they (dist nom)

References

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

Pnar

**Pnar cardinal numbers**
< 2	3	4 >
Cardinal : le Ordinal : wa le

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/

Numeral

le

(cardinal number) three

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin illīs, dative common plural of ille.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

le m (unstressed dative form of ei)

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

Pronoun

le f (unstressed dative form of ele)

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

Pronoun

le m (unstressed accusative form of ele)

(direct object, third-person feminine plural) them (all-female group)

Related terms

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

Article

le

the (the definite article)

Usage notes

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

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/
Hyphenation: le

Preposition

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

with
by
down
Thuit e leis a' chreig. ― He fell down the rock.

deòir a' ruith leis a h-aodann ― tears running down her face

Usage notes

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

Inflection

Personal inflection of le
	Person:		simple	emphatic
singular	first		leam	leamsa
	second		leat	leatsa
	third	m	leis	leis-san
	third	f	leatha	leathase

plural	first		leinn	leinne
	second		leibh	leibhse
	third		leotha	leothasan

Possessive declension of le
		singular	plural
first person		lem^L	ler^N
second person		led^L	lur^N
third person	m	le a^L	len^N, lem^{N 1)}
third person	f	le a^H	len^N, lem^{N 1)}

^L Triggers lenition; ^H Triggers H-prothesis;
^N Triggers eclipsis; ¹⁾ Used before b-, f-, m- or p-

Serbo-Croatian

Adverb

le (Cyrillic spelling ле)

(archaic) only
- 1556, Hanibal Lucić, U vrime ko čisto:
  Nego se varteći dugo tuj zamani,
  Goro, le htih reći, zbogome ostani.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

samo, tek

Slovene

Etymology

Possibly related to Slovak len and Pannonian Rusyn лєм (ljem). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɛ́/

Adverb

lȅ

only, merely, just
- 2024, Raiven, “Veronika”:
  Tvojo resnico le ona ve.
  Only she knows your truth.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

le

these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

le

this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin illī, dative of ille.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /le/ [le]
Audio (Colombia): (file)
Rhymes: -e
Syllabification: le

Pronoun

le m or f by sense

to him, for him; dative of él
Mi mamá va a escribirle una carta.
My mom is going to write him a letter.
to her, for her; dative of ella
Le dio un beso a Ana.
He gave Ana a kiss.
to it, for it; dative of ello
¡Ponle esfuerzo!
Put some effort into it!
to you, for you (formal); dative of usted
¿A usted le gustan los caballos?
Do you like horses?
(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?
(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.
(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.
(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

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

le gender-neutral

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

Swahili

Pronunciation

Audio (Kenya): (file)

Adjective

-le (declinable)

that (distal demonstrative adjective)

Inflection

Inflected forms of **-le**
Noun class	singular	plural
m-wa class_(I/II)	yule	wale
m-mi class_(III/IV)	ule	ile
ji-ma class_(V/VI)	lile	yale
ki-vi class_(VII/VIII)	kile	vile
n class_(IX/X)	ile	zile
u class_(XI)	ule	see n_(X)* or ma_(VI) class*
pa class_(XVI)	pale
ku class_(XVII)	kule
mu class_(XVIII)	mle

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

leende

Wikipedia ^sv

en smiley **som ler** med ögonen / en smiley med **leende** ögon [a smiley **smiling** with its eyes / a smiley with **smiling** eyes]

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /leː/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -eː

Verb

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

to smile
Hon log brett
She smiled broadly

Hon log sarkastiskt
She smiled sarcastically
1. to grin (when more or less interchangeable with smile – for example of a more "genuine" or "beautiful" grin – compare flina and flin)
  - 1996, Drängarna [The Farmhands], “Kung över ängarna [King of [over] the Meadows]”, in Fint vettö [vettu] [Nice Y'know]‎^[22]:
    Jag lägger mig i gräset ner. Ligger still och bara ler. Slumrar till och snarkar tyst. Drömmer om en kvinnas byst. Då ser jag nån som emot mig går, liderlig med utsläppt hår. Hon är vacker som en dag. I samma stund så vaknar jag. Svär [bit hard to make out the S] ett tag men tänker sen: Hon kommer nog till mig inatt igen. Ännu lyser solen stark i skog och mark.
    I lie down in the grass ["Jag lägger mig ner i gräset" is the usual word order. Ner (“down”) can be skipped]. [I] lie still and just grin [or smile]. [I] doze off and snore quietly. [I] dream of a woman's bosom. Then I see someone walking towards me ["Då ser jag nån som går emot mig" is the usual word order], lustful [in an unrestrained manner – old-fashioned – often used to imply "lecherous," but also more generally] with her hair let down [with out-released hair]. She is pretty as a picture ["beautiful as a day" – idiom]. At that moment [in the same moment] I wake up. [I] swear for a bit but then [I] think: She will probably come to me tonight again ["Igen inatt" is a more common word order in Swedish as well]. The sun still shines bright ["yet shines (V2 word order) the sun strong" – could be translated as "still the sun shines bright" to match, but sounds less awkward in Swedish] in woods and fields ["forest and (wild) land" – idiomatic]. [Could also be put in the present continuous. Matches the intuition in Swedish with the [I]s. See the usage notes for -r.]
  Han log från ena örat till det andra
  He was grinning from ear to ear
(obsolete) to laugh
Synonym: skratta

Conjugation

Conjugation of le (class 6 strong)
	active		passive
infinitive	le		les
supine	lett		letts
imperative	le		—
imper. plural¹	len		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	ler	log	les	logs
ind. plural¹	le	logo	les	logos
subjunctive²	le	loge	les	loges

present participle		leende
past participle		—

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

småle

Related terms

leende
löje

References

Anagrams

e.l., el, el.

Tarantino

Alternative forms

l'

Article

le m pl or f pl

the

Turkish

Noun

le

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

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [lɛ˧˧]

Etymology 1

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

Noun

(classifier cây) le

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

Etymology 2

Noun

(classifier con) le • (𪅆) (phonemic reduplicative le le)

(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 Nan jiao, 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

le nâu

Etymology 3

Verb

le

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) alternative form of lè (“to loll (tongue); to put out”)

Etymology 4

Adverb

le

(rare) alternative form of lè (“very”)

Etymology 5

Conjunction

le

(archaic) but; however

Derived terms

song le

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /leː/
Rhymes: -eː

Noun

le

soft mutation of lle

Adverb

le

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

Synonyms

ble
(North Wales, colloquial) lle

Mutation

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

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [lé]

Pronoun

lé

these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [lé]

Pronoun

lé

this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Yoruba

Pronunciation

(low-tone): IPA^(key): /lè/
(mid-tone): IPA^(key): /lē/
(high-tone): IPA^(key): /lé/

Etymology 1

Verb

lè

(auxiliary, defective) to be able, can, to be possible
Ó lè gbọ́ Yorùbá. ― She can understand Yoruba.

Derived terms

ìlè (“ability”)

Etymology 2

Verb

le

to be hard in texture, to be difficult
Iṣẹ́ náà le bí ojú ẹja. ― The work is as hard as a fish's eye.
(idiomatic) to be healthy, to be in good health
Synonym: yá

ṣe ará le o? ― Are you in good health?

Synonyms

Yoruba varieties and languages: le (“to be difficult, hard”)
view map; edit data
Language family	Variety group	Variety/language	Subdialect	Location	Words
Proto-Itsekiri-SEY	Southeast Yoruba	Eastern Àkókó	Ọ̀bà	Ọ̀bà Àkókó	ni, le
		Ìjẹ̀bú	Ìjẹ̀bú	Ìjẹ̀bú Òde	ni
			Rẹ́mọ	Ẹ̀pẹ́	ni
				Ìkòròdú	ni
				Ṣágámù	ni
		Ìkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀)		Òkìtìpupa	ni, le
		Oǹdó		Oǹdó	ni
		Usẹn		Usẹn	le
	Ìtsẹkírì			Ìwẹrẹ	ni
	Olùkùmi			Ugbódù	ni
Proto-Yoruba	Central Yoruba	Èkìtì	Èkìtì	Àdó Èkìtì	le
				Òdè Èkìtì	le
				Ìfàkì Èkìtì	le
			Àkúrẹ́	Àkúrẹ́	le
	Northwest Yoruba	Àwórì		Èbúté Mẹ́tà	le
		Èkó		Èkó	le
		Ìbàdàn		Ìbàdàn	le
		Ìbàràpá		Igbó Òrà	le
		Ìbọ̀lọ́		Òṣogbo (Òsogbo)	le
		Ìlọrin		Ìlọrin	le
		Oǹkó		Òtù	le
				Ìwéré Ilé	le
				Òkèhò	le
				Ìsẹ́yìn	le
				Ṣakí	le
				Tedé	le
				Ìgbẹ́tì	le
		Ọ̀yọ́		Ọ̀yọ́	le
		Standard Yorùbá		Nàìjíríà	le
		Standard Yorùbá		Bɛ̀nɛ̀	le
	Northeast Yoruba/Okun	Owé		Kabba	le
	Ede languages/Southwest Yoruba	Ifɛ̀		Akpáré	le
				Atakpamɛ	le
				Est-Mono	le
				Tchetti (Tsɛti, Cɛti)	le
Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo.

Derived terms

eré-ìmárale (“exercise”)
kára ó le (“A Yoruba greeting meaning, may you always be in good health!”)
líle (“to be hard”)

Etymology 3

Verb

le

to have a strong taste
Ọtí yìí le. ― This beer is strong.

Derived terms

ale
lekó

Etymology 4

Verb

le

to have an erection (of the penis)

Derived terms

ìle (“erection”)

Etymology 5

Verb

lé

(transitive) to exceed in number
to yield interest

Derived terms

èlé (“interest”)

Etymology 6

Verb

lé

(intransitive) to appear distinctly

Derived terms

Alébíoṣù (“A Yoruba nickname meaning, "One that appears very distinctly like the moon."”)
léfòó

Etymology 7

Preposition

lé

on, on top of, after
Wọ́n bí Àlàbá lé Ìdòwú. ― Alaba was born right after Idowu.

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

gbẹ́kẹ̀lé (“to trust”)

Etymology 8

Verb

lé

(transitive) to pursue, to chase
Wọ́n lé e nílèékulèé, òun náà sàsàákúsàá. ― They pursued him relentlessly, and he also ran relentlessly.

Derived terms

ìlé

Etymology 9

Verb

lé

(transitive) to become swollen
Synonyms: ré, wú

Derived terms

ìlé

Zou

Conjunction

le

and

References

http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2013/zouphonologyfinal.pdf

Zulu

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlé/

Etymology 1

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

Pronoun

le

these; class 4 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem *-lé* (locative *kule*)
Possessive forms
full form	lé
locative	kule
copulative	yile
	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

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

Pronoun

le

this; class 9 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem *-lé* (locative *kule*)
Possessive forms
full form	lé
locative	kule
copulative	yile
	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

C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “le”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “le (2)”

[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

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

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

[Folkmasa-10] “le”, in Trezoro de la Lengua Djudeoespanyola [Treasure of the Judeo-Spanish Language] (in Ladino, Hebrew, and English), Instituto Maale Adumim

[Nynorskordboka-11] 1.0 ^1.1 “le” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

[12] Ivar Aasen (1850), “læ”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog‎^[2] (in Danish), Oslo: Samlaget, published 2000

[13] Ivar Aasen (1850), “læja”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog‎^[3] (in Danish), Oslo: Samlaget, published 2000

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[1]

[1]

[1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

Basic form	Contracted with							Copular forms
Basic form	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	(before consonant)	(present/future before vowel)	(past/conditional before vowel)
de (“from”)	den	de na desna*	de mo dem*	de do ded, det	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
do (“to, for”)	don	do na dosna*	do mo dom*	do do dod, dot	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
faoi (“under, about”)	faoin	faoi na	faoi mo	faoi do	faoina	faoinár	faoinar		faoinarb	faoinarbh
i (“in”)	sa, san	sna	i mo im*	i do id, it	ina	inár	inar		inarb	inarbh
le (“with”)	leis an	leis na	le mo lem*	le do led, let	lena	lenár	lenar		lenarb	lenarbh
ó (“from, since”)	ón	ó na ósna*	ó mo óm*	ó do ód, ót	óna	ónár	ónar		ónarb	ónarbh
trí (“through”)	tríd an	trí na	trí mo	trí do	trína	trínár	trínar		trínarb	trínarbh
*Dialectal.

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Combined	Disjunctive	Locative	Partitive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m', -mi			me	me	—
	second	—	tu	ti, t', -ti			te	te	—
	third	m	lui	si², s', -si	lo, l', -lo	gli, -gli	glie, se²	lui, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
	third	f	lei, Lei¹	si², s', -si	la, La¹, l', L'¹, -la, -La¹	le³, Le¹, -le³, -Le¹	glie, se²	lei, Lei¹, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c', -ci			ce	noi	—
	second	—	voi, Voi⁴	vi, Vi⁴, v', V'⁴, -vi, -Vi⁴			ve	voi, Voi⁴	—
	third	m	loro, Loro¹	si, s', -si	li, Li¹, -li, -Li¹	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro¹	glie, se	loro, Loro¹, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
	third	f	loro, Loro¹	si, s', -si	le, Le¹, -le, -Le¹	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro¹	glie, se	loro, Loro¹, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
¹	Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
²	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
³	Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
⁴	Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Combined	Disjunctive	Locative	Partitive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m', -mi			me	me	—
	second	—	tu	ti, t', -ti			te	te	—
	third	m	lui	si², s', -si	lo, l', -lo	gli, -gli	glie, se²	lui, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
	third	f	lei, Lei¹	si², s', -si	la, La¹, l', L'¹, -la, -La¹	le³, Le¹, -le³, -Le¹	glie, se²	lei, Lei¹, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c', -ci			ce	noi	—
	second	—	voi, Voi⁴	vi, Vi⁴, v', V'⁴, -vi, -Vi⁴			ve	voi, Voi⁴	—
	third	m	loro, Loro¹	si, s', -si	li, Li¹, -li, -Li¹	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro¹	glie, se	loro, Loro¹, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
	third	f	loro, Loro¹	si, s', -si	le, Le¹, -le, -Le¹	gli, -gli, loro (formal), Loro¹	glie, se	loro, Loro¹, sé	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'
¹	Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
²	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
³	Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
⁴	Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

				Nominative	Disjunctive	Accusative	Dative	Comitative
First-person	Singular			yo	mí	me		conmigo
	Plural	Masculine¹		nosotros		nos		—
	Plural	Feminine		nosotras		nos		—
Second-person	Singular	Tuteo		tú	tí	te		contigo
		Voseo		vos	—	te
		Formal²	Masculine¹	usted		le, se³	lo
		Formal²	Feminine	usted		le, se³	la
	Plural	Familiar⁴	Masculine¹	vosotros		os
		Familiar⁴	Feminine	vosotras		os
		Formal/general²	Masculine¹	ustedes		les, se³	los
		Formal/general²	Feminine	ustedes		les, se³	las
Third-person	Singular	Masculine¹		él		le, se³	lo
		Feminine		ella			la
		Neuter		ello⁵			lo
	Plural	Masculine¹		ellos		les, se³	los
	Plural	Feminine		ellas		les, se³	las
	Reflexive			—	sí	se		consigo

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Article

Usage notes

Derived terms

See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Preposition

Anagrams

Afar

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

References

Albanian

Etymology 1

Verb

Particle

See also

References

Further reading

Etymology 2

Verb

Related terms

References

Aragonese

Etymology

Pronoun

Synonyms

Bourguignon

Alternative forms

Etymology

Article

Breton

Noun

Chinese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Cornish

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Adjective

Derived terms

Adverb

Corsican

Etymology

Article

Pronoun

References

Dalmatian

Etymology

Article

Related terms

Danish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Inflection

Etymology 2

Verb

Conjugation

See also

Fala

Etymology

Pronoun

Usage notes

See also

References

Franco-Provençal

Determiner

Pronoun

References

French

Etymology