Allah
/ʔalˤːɑːh/
noun
Origin
Arabic
ʾ-l-h — deity, god
Overview
Meaning Now
- The proper name of the one God in Islam.
- A term used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews to refer to God.
Literal older meaning
the (al-) God (ilāh)
Language path
Proto-Semitic → Arabic
Earliest form
al-ilāh
Earliest period
Pre-Islamic era
Journey
The name functions as a contraction of the Arabic definite article 'al-' and the word 'ilāh', which shares a common Semitic ancestry with Hebrew 'Eloah' and Aramaic 'Elah'. It has been used in Arabic to designate the God of monotheistic tradition long before the emergence of Islam.
Evolution
- Proto-Semitic
*ʾil-
“god”
Common Semitic root for deity.
- Arabic (Pre-Islamic)
al-ilāh
“the God”
Definite article 'al-' combined with the noun 'ilāh'.
- Arabic (Classical)
Allah
“God (the unique deity)”
Elision of the hamza and assimilation of the liquid sounds.
Connections
Word parts
al-
prefix
the
ilāh
root
deity
Related across languages
Hebrew
Eloah
God
Aramaic
Elah
God
Explore next
Related to Allah
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.