Arabic

Conjunction

أَلَّا • ‎(ʾallā)

1. lest
2. that...not
3. in order that...not
4. so as not to

Etymology 2

Particle

أَلَا • ‎(ʾalā)

1. verily, truly, indeed, oh yes!

Etymology 3

From the root ء ل و ‎(ʾ-l-w).

Verb

أَلَا • ‎(ʾalā) I, non-past يَأْلُو‎ (yaʾlū)

1. to neglect to do, to fail to do, not to do (with فِي ‎(fī))
2. to desist, to refrain (with فِي ‎(fī))

Conjugation

References

• “ألا” in Edward William Lane (1863), Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate
• Wehr, Hans (1976), “ألا”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 3rd edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, ISBN 0-87950-001-8

Etymology 4

Interrogative particle أَ ‎(ʾa) + Negation لَا ‎(lā).

Particle

أَلَا • ‎(ʾalā)

1. do/does ... not, don't/doesn't (negative interrogative particle)

   أَلَا تَعْرِفُ مَنْ هُوَ؟‎

   ʾalā taʿrifu man huwa?

   Do you not know who he is?