| a suffix with the general sense “of the kind of, pertaining to, having the form or character of” that named by the stem, occurring in loanwords from Latin (autumnal; natural; pastoral), and productive in English on the Latin model, usually with bases of Latin origin (accidental; seasonal; tribal). Originally, -al1 was restricted to stems not containing an -l- (cf. ar- 1 ); recent lapses in this rule have produced semantically distinct pairs, as familiar and familial. |
| a suffix forming nouns from verbs, usually verbs of French or Latin origin: denial; refusal. |
| Chemistry. a suffix indicating that a compound contains an aldehyde group: chloral. |
| -al 1 suff. Of, relating to, or characterized by: parental. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin -ālis, adj. suff.] |
| -al 2 suff. Action; process: retrieval. [Middle English -aille, from Old French, from Latin -ālia, from neuter pl. of -ālis.] |
| -al 3 suff. Aldehyde: citronellal. [From al(dehyde).] |
-al 3
suff.
Aldehyde: butyral.
