-al

I

aff. 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, usu. with bases of Latin origin (accidental; seasonal; tribal)

Compare -ical -ar I -ial

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Etymology: < L -ālis, -āle II

-al

aff. a suffix forming nouns from verbs, usu. verbs of French or Latin origin:

denial; refusal[/ex]

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Etymology: < L -āle (sing.), -ālia (pl.), nominalized neut. of -ālis -al I; often r. ME -aille < OF < L -ālia III

-al

chem. aff. a suffix used in the names of chemical compounds that contain an aldehyde group:

acetal; furfural[/ex]

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Etymology: prob. extracted from chloral