ala
1 of 4noun
ˈā-lə 
plural alae ˈā-ˌlē
: a wing or a winglike anatomic part or process (see process entry 1 sense 4)
alar
ˈā-lər
adjective alary
ˈā-lə-rē
adjective Ala
2 of 4abbreviation (1)
Alabama
ALA
3 of 4abbreviation (2)
American Library Association
à la
4 of 4preposition
ˌä-(ˌ)lä
ˌä-lə,
ˌa-lə
variants or less commonly a la
: in the manner of
walking with a swagger à la John Wayne
Word History
Etymology
Noun
borrowed from Latin āla "armpit, upper arm, wing, axil" going back to *akslā, going back to Indo-European *h2eḱs-(i)l-eh2- (whence also Germanic *ahslō-, whence Old English eaxl "shoulder," Old Frisian axle, axele "shoulder, armpit," Old Saxon ahsla, Old High German ahsla, ahsala, Old Icelandic ǫxl "shoulder"), derivative with an -l- suffix from *h2eḱs- "pivot around which something rotates, axle" — more at axis
Preposition
French à la
First Known Use
Noun
1634, in the meaning defined above
Preposition
circa 1642, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
Ala.
abbreviation
Alabama
Medical Definition
ala 1 of 3
noun
ˈā-lə
plural alae -ˌlē
: a wing or a winglike anatomic process or part
especially : ala nasi
Ala
2 of 3abbreviation
alanine; alanyl
ALA
3 of 3abbreviation
1
alpha-linolenic acid
2
aminolevulinic acid