del

See also: Appendix:Variations of "del"

Languages (33)

Translingual • English

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Ahtna • Albanian • Asturian • Breton • Burarra • Catalan • Cebuano • Chinese • Cornish • Danish • Dutch • Galician • Ido • Interlingua • Istriot • Italian • Middle English • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Occitan • Old French • Old Saxon • Polish • Romani • Slovene • Spanish • Swedish • Volapük • Welsh • West Frisian • Yola

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Delaware.

Symbol

del

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Delaware languages.

English

Etymology 1

From delta, the symbol being an inverted delta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/
• Rhymes: -ɛl

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

del (plural dels)

1. (mathematical analysis) The symbol ∇ used to denote the gradient operator.
2. (mathematics) the symbol ∂, in the context of a partial differential

Synonyms

• (The symbol ∇): atled, nabla

See also

• Wikipedia article on del, the mathematical symbol

Etymology 2

See deal

Noun

del (plural dels)

Ledebouria ovatifolia as illustrated in "The Flowering Plants of South Africa". Note the signature of M.E. Connell in the bottom left corner. The "del." after her name is short for delineavit, meaning that she was the one who drew the original illustration.

1. (obsolete) a part, portion

Etymology 3

Shortening

Noun

del

1. Abbreviation of delegate.
2. Abbreviation of delegation.

Verb

del

1. Abbreviation of delete.

Etymology 4

Abbreviation of Latin delineavit

Verb

del

1. abbreviation of Latin delineavit as seen on published artwork, identifying the original artist. Commonly seen in books and articles on topics in natural history

Anagrams

• 'eld, DLE, EDL, LDE, LED, eld, led, μLED

Ahtna

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *dəɬ. Cognate with Navajo dił (“blood”).

Noun

del

1. blood

References

• Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 148

Albanian

Etymology

Variant of standard dal.

Verb

del

1. to exit
2. to go out

Asturian

Etymology

From a contraction of the preposition de (“of, from”) + masculine singular article el (“the”).

Contraction

del m

1. of the, from the

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *döl (whence also Welsh dail), from Proto-Celtic *dol-. Cognate with Middle Irish duille, from Old Irish duilne, from a variant form *dolinyā; both are from Proto-Indo-European *dʰelh₁- (“blossom”), whence also Ancient Greek θάλλω (thállō, “to bloom”), Old English dile (“dill”), and Old Armenian դալար (dalar, “green, fresh”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdel/

Noun

del f (singulative delienn)

1. foliage, leaves

Burarra

Noun

del

1. spotted harrier, swamp harrier
2. peregrine falcon, brown falcon
3. Australian kestrel

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Central) IPA^(key): /dəl/
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /del/

Contraction

del

1. Contraction of the preposition de and the article el. of the

Further reading

• “del”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Cebuano

Etymology

From Spanish del, contraction of ‘de el.’

Contraction

del

1. (obsolete) of the, from the (only in names with Spanish origins or in phrases with Spanish construct)

Related terms

• de, dela

Chinese

Etymology

From clipping of English delete.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): di⁶

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: di⁶
    • Yale: dih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: di⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: di⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiː²²/

Verb

del

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to delete

Cornish

Etymology

From Middle Cornish del, from Old Cornish del, from Proto-Brythonic *döl, from Proto-Celtic *dol-, from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰelh₁- (“blossom”). Cognate with Breton del, Welsh dail.

Noun

del (collective, singulative delen f)

1. leaves

Derived terms

• del bleujyow (“flower petals”)
• delek, delennek (“leafy”)
• delen vay (“bay leaf”)
• fugewin del helyk (“willow-leaved podocarps”)
• gelvin garan del derow (“oakleaf crane's bill”)
• guwbren del tew (“lancewood”)
• gwinwel del onn (“ashtree maples, box elders”)
• gwydh bulhorn del lowr (“laurel-leaved snail trees”)
• konoteaster del byghan (“littleleaf cotoneaster”)
• kowhai del byghan (“small-leaved kowhai”)
• les-lesa del idhyow (“ivy-leaved speedwell”)
• lethles del myrt (“myrtle-leaf milkwort”)
• mellyonen beder del (“four-leaf clover”)
• osmanthus del kelyn (“holly olive”)
• pryv del (“caterpillar”)
• roskowlys del bras (“mop heads”)

Mutation

Mutation of del

unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed	mixed after 'th
del	dhel	unchanged	tel	tel	tel

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

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈd̥eˀl]

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German dēl, deil, from Old Saxon del. The word has replaced the native noun Old Danish deld, Old Norse deild, from Proto-Germanic *dailiþō.

Noun

del c (singular definite delen, plural indefinite dele)

1. part, portion
2. proportion
3. share, portion
4. section

Inflection

Declension of del

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	del	delen	dele	delene
genitive	dels	delens	deles	delenes

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

del

1. imperative of dele

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/
• Hyphenation: del
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch delle (“valley; dune valley”), from Old Dutch della (“valley; (geography) depression; dune valley”), from Proto-Germanic *daljō. Cognate with English dell.

Noun

del n (plural dellen, diminutive delletje n)

1. dune valley
2. dell, small depression in a landscape

Related terms

• dal
• doel

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch dille. Further origin uncertain; perhaps related to the verb dillen (“to chatter”). Compare English dell.

Noun

del f (plural dellen, diminutive delletje n)

1. trollop, floozie

Galician

Etymology

From contraction of preposition de (“of, from”) + third-person masculine singular pronoun el (“he, him, it”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /del/

Contraction

del m (feminine dela, masculine plural deles, feminine plural delas)

1. of him, of it, from him, from it

Further reading

• “del”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Ido

Preposition

del

1. contraction of de +‎ la, literally “from the”

Usage notes

This is optional, you can also use de l'...

Interlingua

Preposition

del

1. contraction of de +‎ le, literally “of the”

Istriot

Contraction

del

1. Contraction of de (“of”) + el (“the”)
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 29:

     Ti son la manduleîna del mio core;

     You are the almond of my heart;

Italian

Etymology

di (preposition) +‎ il (article)

Contraction

del

1. contraction of di +‎ il; some, of the, from the [with masculine singular noun]

   L'architetto del ristorante parla col cuoco. ― The architect of the restaurant talks with the cook.

See also

di § Usage notes

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English dǣl.

Alternative forms

• (Early ME) dæl, deal, deol
• dele, deel, deyl, deil, diel, deele

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛːl/

Noun

del (plural deles)

1. A part, proportion or section of something.
2. The part or proportion that one is assigned or entitled to.
3. One's fate, inevitability or luck; what is ordained to occur.
4. A quantity or number of something; a deal or lot.
5. Intensity, severity, degree.
6. (often used in negations) A thing; a small amount.

Synonyms

• dol

Related terms

• delare
• delen
• delynge
• everydel
• ordel
• somdel

Descendants

• English: deal
• Scots: dele

References

• “dēl, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 July 2018.

Etymology 2

Noun

del

1. alternative form of delle (“dell”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German dēl, deil, from Old Saxon dēl, from Proto-Germanic *dailą, *dailiz (“part, portion, deal”).

Noun

del m (definite singular delen, indefinite plural deler, definite plural delene)

1. part, portion, share

Derived terms

• bestanddel
• bildel
• brøkdel
• bydel
• delaktig
• delstat
• deltid
• delvis
• eiendel
• femdel
• femtedel
• firedel
• fjerdedel
• halvdel
• hoveddel
• hundredel
• kroppsdel
• landsdel
• reservedel
• seksdel
• sjettedel
• størstedel
• tidel
• tiendedel
• tredel
• tredjedel
• tusendel
• verdensdel

Etymology 2

Verb

del

1. imperative of dele

References

• “del” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• deil (non-standard since 1938)

Etymology

From Middle Low German dēl, deil, from Old Saxon dēl, from Proto-Germanic *dailą, *dailiz (“part, portion, deal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deːl/

Noun

del m (definite singular delen, indefinite plural delar, definite plural delane)

1. part, portion, share

   Synonym: lut

Derived terms

• bildel
• brøkdel
• bydel
• delstat
• deltid
• femdel
• femtedel
• firedel
• fjerdedel
• halvdel
• hundredel
• kroppsdel
• landsdel
• reservedel
• seksdel
• sjettedel
• størstedel
• tidel
• tredel
• tredjedel
• tusendel

References

• “del” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Alternative forms

• dau
• dal
• deu

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Contraction

del

1. contraction of de +‎ lo

Old French

Alternative forms

• du

Contraction

del

1. contraction of de + le (of the)

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *daili.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛːl/, /dɛi̯l/

Noun

dēl m

1. part, share, portion
2. unit, word

Declension

dēl (masculine a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	dēl	dēlos
accusative	dēl	dēlos
genitive	dēles	dēlō
dative	dēle	dēlum
instrumental	—	—

Polish

Pronunciation

• (Greater Poland):
  • (Northern Greater Poland) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛl/

Noun

del m inan

1. (Northern Greater Poland) alternative form of dyl

Further reading

• Oskar Kolberg (1877), “del”, in “Rzecz o mowie ludu wielkopolskiego”, in Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowéj (in Polish), volume 1, III (Materyjały etnologiczne), page 33

Romani

Etymology 1

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀤𑁂𑀤𑀺 (dedi), from Sanskrit ददाति (dadāti), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *dádaHti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dádaHti, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti.

Verb

del

1. to give

Derived terms

• del avri
• del dùma
• del godǐ
• del muj
• del ćući
• del čikh

Etymology 2

Noun

del m (accusative devles, nominative plural devla, accusative plural devlen)

1. alternative form of devel (“god”)

References

• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “dádāti”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 351
• Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “del¹”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, pages 67-69
• Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “del²”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 69
• Marcel Courthiade (2009), “d/el, -inǎs ≈ -ias²³”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 122
• Marcel Courthiade (2009), “o dev/el¹, -les m. -la, -len = o de/l²³, -vles m. -vla, -vlen”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 124

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *dělъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dèːl/, /déːl/, /dèːʋ/, /déːʋ/

Noun

dẹ̄l or dẹ̄ł m inan

1. part

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	dél
gen. sing.	déla
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	dél	déla	déli
genitive (rodȋlnik)	déla	délov	délov
dative (dajȃlnik)	délu	déloma	délom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	dél	déla	déle
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	délu	délih	délih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	délom	déloma	déli

Further reading

• “del”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Spanish

Alternative forms

• d'el (obsolete)

Etymology

• prep de + article el. Akin to Portuguese do and French du.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /del/ [d̪el]
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: del

Contraction

del

1. of the, from the (+ a masculine noun in singular).
   • 2024 November 8, Kaitlan Collins, “Batallas desde el patio de Mar-a-Lago: cómo el equipo de Trump compite por los puestos”, in CNN en Español‎^[1]:

     Esas conversaciones en voz baja se convirtieron ahora en una auténtica batalla que se desarrolla directamente desde el patio del club Mar-a-Lago de Trump en Palm Beach, Florida.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

See also

• al

Further reading

• “del”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “del”, in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas [Panhispanic Dictionary of Doubts] (in Spanish), 2nd edition, Royal Spanish Academy; Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, 2023, →ISBN

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish del, from Middle Low German dēl, deil, from Old Saxon dēl.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

del c

1. part (of a whole); share

Declension

Declension of del

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	del	dels
	definite	delen	delens
plural	indefinite	delar	delars
	definite	delarna	delarnas

Derived terms

• en del
• en hel del
• för den delen

Related terms

• dela
• dela med sig

Further reading

• del in Svensk ordbok.

Anagrams

• LED, eld, led

Volapük

Noun

del (nominative plural dels)

1. day
   • 1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: VI:

     Klu no kudolsöd tefü odel! Odel jäfikonös me kuds oka it! Del alik labon saidiko töbis lönik oka.

     So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Declension

Declension of del

	singular	plural
nominative	del	dels
genitive	dela	delas
dative	dele	deles
accusative	deli	delis
vocative 1	o del!	o dels!
predicative 2	delu	delus

¹ status as a case is disputed
² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Derived terms

• adel
• a del
• adelo
• adelo gödiko
• aldelafif
• aposzedel
• aposzedelik
• aposzedelo
• ädel
• ädelik
• ädelo
• ädelo gödiko
• äposzedelo
• delagased
• delagasedem
• delajit
• delaprim
• delaprimik
• delaprimo
• delavomajit
• deled
• deli kinid mula labobs-li adelo?
• dödel
• fidön göliko pos zedel
• fitadel
• florüpadel
• florüpadelalunik
• florüpadelo
• fluküpadel
• fluküpadelalunik
• fluküpadelo
• foldegdelacunüp
• foldegdelapönidüp
• foldegdelik
• fridel
• hitüpadel
• hitüpadelalunik
• hitüpadelo
• jabatadel
• jabatadelik
• jabatadelo
• jafadel
• jafadelem
• jafadelik
• jafadelo
• jeifadel
• malarafif aldelik
• mäldelik
• motedadel
• mudel
• nifüpadel
• nifüpadelalunik
• odel
• odelik
• odelo
• poszedel
• poszedelik
• poszedelo
• pönidüp foldegdelik (karen)
• sis ädel
• sudel
• tudel
• tumdelik
• ün del semik
• vedel
• veldelik
• zädel
• zäladel
• zedel
• zehitüpadel

Welsh

Etymology

Related to delw (“image”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Adjective

del (feminine singular del, plural del, equative deled, comparative delach, superlative delaf)

1. pretty

Mutation

Mutated forms of del

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
del	ddel	nel	unchanged

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

West Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/

Adverb

del

1. down

Further reading

• “del”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Yola

Etymology 1

From Middle English telle, tille, from Old English til.

Alternative forms

• dell, tell, 'tell, till

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/, /tɛl/, /tɪl/

Preposition

del

1. until
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     Del Ich.

     Until I.

   • 1867, “JAMEEN QOUGEELY EE-PEALTHE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 110, lines 2-3:

     Hea raan awye del hea caame neeghe Burstheoune.

     He ran away until he came nigh to Bridgetown.

Etymology 2

From Middle English delven, from Old English delfan, from Proto-West Germanic *delban.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl/

Verb

del (present participle delleen, simple past dellt)

1. to dig or delve

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 33 & 34