alas
/əˈlæs/ interjection, noun
Forms alases alasses helas
- interjection Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment. “I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.”
- noun A type of geological depression formed by the subsidence of permafrost, sometimes (partially) filled by a lake.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.
From Yakut алаас (alaas).
Webster’s 1913
- interjection An exclamation expressive of sorrow, pity, or apprehension of evil; --in old writers, sometimes followed by day or white; alas the day, like alack a day, or alas the white.
Etymology [OE. alas, allas, OF. alas, F. hélas; a interj. (L. ah.) + las wretched (that I am), L. lassus weary, akin to E. late. See Late.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “alas”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details