alp

See also: ālp-, Alp, ALP, and Ālp

English

Etymology

Late Middle English, back-formation from alps pl, via French from Latin Alpes (“high mountains, especially those of Switzerland”). Compare Old Saxon elbon (“Alps”), Old High German Alpūn (“Alps”); Old High German alba (“alp, mountain”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ælp/

Noun

alp (plural alps)

1. A very high mountain. Specifically, one of the Alps, the highest chain of mountains in Europe.
   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 42, line 529:

     Nor breath of Vernal Air from ſnowy Alp.

   • 1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 15:

     Hills peep o'er Hills, and Alps on Alps ariſe!

   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC:

     There is a great alp of sand, one hundred metres high, between the pines and the ocean, […]

2. An alpine meadow.
   • 1942, Marco Pallis, Peaks and Lamas, page 54:

     At the alp of Khyarkuti, a wide flat at the junction of several glens […]

Derived terms

• alpine
• alpinely
• alpinism
• alpinist
• alpland

Translations

very high mountain

• Finnish: alppi
• German: Alm (de) f
• Swedish: alp (sv) c

Anagrams

• APL, LPA, PAL, PLA, Pal, Pla, lap, pal

Dutch

Alternative forms

• Alp (superseded)

Etymology

Back-formation from Alpen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑlp/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: alp
• Rhymes: -ɑlp

Noun

alp m (plural alpen, diminutive alpje n)

1. alp, (very) high mountain

Derived terms

• alpengierzwaluw
• alpenkauw
• alpenkraai
• alpenviooltje

Related terms

• alm

French

Phrase

alp

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) à la prochaine

Irish

Etymology 1

Compare English alp.

Noun

alp m (genitive singular ailp, nominative plural alpa)

1. alp (high mountain)

Declension

Declension of alp (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative alp aalpa vocative a ailp a alpa genitive ailp alp dative alp aalpa forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an t-alp na haalpa genitive an ailp na n-alp dative leis an alp don alp leis na haalpa

Related terms

• Alpach (“Alpine”, adjective)
• fo-alpach (“subalpine”, adjective)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

alp (present analytic alpann, future analytic alpfaidh, verbal noun alpadh, past participle alptha)

1. (transitive) devour, swallow whole
2. (transitive) grab

Conjugation

conjugation of alp (first conjugation – A)

		singular			plural			relative	autonomous
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	present	alpaim	alpann tú; alpair†	alpann sé, sí	alpaimid	alpann sibh	alpann siad; alpaid†	a alpann; a alpas / a n-alpann*	alptar
	past	d'alp mé; d'alpas / alp mé‡; alpas‡	d'alp tú; d'alpais / alp tú; alpais‡	d'alp sé, sí / alp sé, sí‡	d'alpamar; d'alp muid / alpamar; alp muid‡	d'alp sibh; d'alpabhair / alp sibh; alpabhair‡	d'alp siad; d'alpadar / alp siad; alpadar‡	a d'alp / ar alp*	alpadh; halpadh†
	past habitual	d'alpainn / alpainn‡; n-alpainn‡‡	d'alptá / alptá‡; n-alptᇇ	d'alpadh sé, sí / alpadh sé, sí‡; n-alpadh sé, s퇇	d'alpaimis; d'alpadh muid / alpaimis; alpadh muid‡; n-alpaimis‡‡; n-alpadh muid‡‡	d'alpadh sibh / alpadh sibh‡; n-alpadh sibh‡‡	d'alpaidís; d'alpadh siad / alpaidís; alpadh siad‡; n-alpaidís‡‡; n-alpadh siad‡‡	a d'alpadh / a n-alpadh*	d'alptaí / alptaí‡; n-alpta퇇
future		alpfaidh mé; alpfad	alpfaidh tú; alpfair†	alpfaidh sé, sí	alpfaimid; alpfaidh muid	alpfaidh sibh	alpfaidh siad; alpfaid†	a alpfaidh; a alpfas / a n-alpfaidh*	alpfar
conditional		d'alpfainn / alpfainn‡; n-alpfainn‡‡	d'alpfá / alpfá‡; n-alpfᇇ	d'alpfadh sé, sí / alpfadh sé, sí‡; n-alpfadh sé, s퇇	d'alpfaimis; d'alpfadh muid / alpfaimis‡; alpfadh muid‡; n-alpfaimis‡‡; n-alpfadh muid‡‡	d'alpfadh sibh / alpfadh sibh‡; n-alpfadh sibh‡‡	d'alpfaidís; d'alpfadh siad / alpfaidís‡; alpfadh siad‡; n-alpfaidís‡‡; n-alpfadh siad‡‡	a d'alpfadh / a n-alpfadh*	d'alpfaí / alpfaí‡; n-alpfa퇇
subjunctive	present	go n-alpa mé; go n-alpad†	go n-alpa tú; go n-alpair†	go n-alpa sé, sí	go n-alpaimid; go n-alpa muid	go n-alpa sibh	go n-alpa siad; go n-alpaid†	—	go n-alptar
	past	dá n-alpainn	dá n-alptá	dá n-alpadh sé, sí	dá n-alpaimis; dá n-alpadh muid	dá n-alpadh sibh	dá n-alpaidís; dá n-alpadh siad	—	dá n-alptaí
imperative		alpaim	alp	alpadh sé, sí	alpaimis	alpaigí; alpaidh†	alpaidís	—	alptar
verbal noun		alpadh
past participle		alptha

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form
‡ dependent form
‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis (except an)

Derived terms

• alpach, alpúil (“voracious, greedy; grabbing”, adjective)
• alpaire m (“voracious eater; grabber”)

Related terms

• alpaireacht f (“(act of) bolting food; voracious eating; (act of) grabbing”)
• alpartha (“greedy; stout, burly”, adjective)

Etymology 3

Noun

alp f (genitive singular ailpe, nominative plural ailpeanna)

1. Alternative form of ailp (“lump, chunk; knob”)

Declension

Declension of alp (second declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative alp ailpeanna vocative a alp a ailpeanna genitive ailpe ailpeanna dative alp ailpeanna forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an alp na hailpeanna genitive na hailpe na n-ailpeanna dative leis an alp don alp leis na hailpeanna

Derived terms

• alpán
• alpóg

Etymology 4

Noun

alp m (genitive singular ailp, nominative plural alpa)

1. Alternative form of earc (“lizard; reptile”)

Declension

Declension of alp (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative alp aalpa vocative a ailp a alpa genitive ailp alp dative alp aalpa forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an t-alp na haalpa genitive an ailp na n-alp dative leis an alp don alp leis na haalpa

Mutation

Mutated forms of alp

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
alp	n-alp	halp	t-alp

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “alp”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “alp”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “alp”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “alp”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025

Middle High German

Alternative forms

• (elf, spirit): alb

Etymology

From Old High German alp (13th century), from Proto-West Germanic *albi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈalp/

Noun

alp m (plural elbe or elber)

1. elf
2. friendly spirit, ghostly being, genius, or fairy
3. nightmare (later meaning)

Declension

Declension of alp (masculine, class 2 strong)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	alp	die	elbe, elber
genitive	eines	dës	albes	dër	elbe, elber
dative	eime	dëm	albe	dën	elben, elbern
accusative	einen	dën	alp	die	elbe, elber

Descendants

• German: Alb

References

• Marshall Jones Company (1930). Mythology of All Races Series, Volume 2 Eddic, Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 220.

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• ailp

Etymology

Possibly from Old Irish alp (“lump, loose mass”); see ailp.

Noun

alp f (genitive singular ailp, plural alpa)

1. protuberance, eminence
2. mountain

Mutation

Mutation of alp

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
alp	n-alp	h-alp	t-alp

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

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “alp”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Swedish

Etymology

From French Alpes (“Alps”).

Noun

alp c

1. alp; a mountain in the Alps

Declension

Declension of alp

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	alp	alps
	definite	alpen	alpens
plural	indefinite	alper	alpers
	definite	alperna	alpernas

Related terms

• Alperna

References

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Alp”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish آلپ (alp), from Proto-Turkic *alp (“difficult, hard; warrior, hero, brave; giant, landlord”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰞𐰯 (l¹p /⁠alp⁠/), Khakas алып (alıp, “hero”), Kazakh алып (alyp, “giant”), Tatar алып (alıp, “giant”), Yakut алып (alıp, “craftiness, deception, magic”), Uyghur ئالپ (alp, “hero; giant”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑlp/

Adjective

alp

1. brave, hero

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “alp”, in Nişanyan Sözlük