Definitions for alas
əˈlæs, əˈlɑsalas

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. unfortunately, unluckily, regrettably, alasadverb

   by bad luck

   "unfortunately it rained all day"; "alas, I cannot stay"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. alasinterjection

   Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion or grief.

2. Etymology: From a las (French hélas), from a + las, from lassus.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Alasinterject.

   Etymology: helas, Fr. eylaes, Dutch.

   1. A word expressing lamentation, when we use it of ourselves.

   But yet, alas! O but yet alas! our haps be but hard haps. Philip Sidney, b. i.

   Alas! how little from the grave we claim?
   Thou but preserv’st a form, and I a name. Alexander Pope, Epist.

   2. A word of pity, when used of other persons.

   Alas! poor Protheus, thou hast entertain’d
   A fox to be the shepherd of thy lambs. William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona.

   3. A word of sorrow and concern, when used of things.

   Thus saith the Lord God, Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel. Ezekiel, vi. 11.

   Alas! both for the deed, and for the cause! John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. xi. l. 461.

   Alas! for pity of this bloody field;
   Piteous indeed must be, when I, a spirit,
   Can have so soft a sense of human woes. John Dryden, K. Arthur.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. alas

   Alas is an interjection or exclamation used to express feelings of grief, pity, regret, or concern, often in response to an unfortunate event or circumstance.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Alas

   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

2. Etymology: [OE. alas, allas, OF. alas, F. hlas; a interj. (L. ah.) + las wretched (that I am), L. lassus weary, akin to E. late. See Late.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Alas

   a-las′, interj. expressive of grief.—Alas the day, Alas the while (in old writers), ah! unhappy day, or time. [O. Fr. ha las, a las (mod. Fr. hélas); ha! and las, lasse, wretched, weary—L. lassus, wearied.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. alas

   Song lyrics by alas -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by alas on the Lyrics.com website.

2. ALAS

   What does ALAS stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the ALAS acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ALAS

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alas is ranked #7619 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Alas surname appeared 4,358 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Alas.
   
   92.4% or 4,030 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   3.8% or 166 total occurrences were White.
   2.5% or 109 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.7% or 34 total occurrences were Black.
   0.2% or 10 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   0.2% or 9 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Anagrams for alas »

1. aals

2. Lasa

How to pronounce alas?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say alas in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of alas in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of alas in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of alas in a Sentence

1. Sarah N. Cleghorn:

   The unfit die -- the fit both live and thrive. Alas, who say so They who do survive.

2. Goethe:

   We cannot too soon convince ourselves how easily we may be dispensed with in the world. What important personages we imagine ourselves to be! We think that we alone are the life of the circle in which we move; in our absence, we fancy that life, existence, breath will come to a general pause, and, alas, the gap which we leave is scarcely perceptible, so quickly is it filled again; nay, it is often the place, if not of something better, at least for something more agreeable.

3. Joseph Brodsky:

   For aesthetics is the mother of ethics. Were we to choose our leaders on the basis of their reading experience and not their political programs, there would be much less grief on earth. I believe-not empirically, alas, but only theoretically-that for someone who has read a lot of Dickens to shoot his like in the name of an idea is harder than for someone who has read no Dickens.

4. Ramana Pemmaraju:

   there has never been a moment in one's life when one might not have stumbled upon this strange reality: what am I doing, where am I so hurriedly running, what is my objective, this whole world is a rat race and I'm going no where, with out any goal, isn't it?. this thought comes to me very often. alas! what to do, don't know what and where to knock the door and experience reality. no sooner that I try, I'm again fallen into the dismal depths of abyss, into the worldly affairs”

5. Anonymous, Greensleeves:

   Alas my love you do me wrong, To cast me of discurteously; And I have loved you so long, Delighting in your company.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=alas
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Alas
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=alas
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alas
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=alas
7. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html