L

From the Etruscan letter 𐌋 (l, “el”), from the Ancient Greek letter Λ (L, “lambda”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤋‎ (l, “lamed”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓌅.

L (lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter L):  Ĺĺ  Ľľ  Ļļ  Ḷḷ  Ḹḹ  Ḽḽ  Ḻḻ  Łł  Ŀŀ  Ƚƚ  Ⱡⱡ  Ɫɫ  ɬ  ᶅ  ɭ  ȴ  ʟ  Ｌｌ  fl  ffl  ℔  LJLjlj  LJLjlj  Ỻỻ

L

1. Roman numeral fifty (50)
2. the fiftieth (50th)

L

1. (measurement, SI) liter, litre.
2. (biochemistry, IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation) leucine
3. (set theory) Constructible universe
4. (computer science) Deterministic logarithmic space
5. (physics) inductance
6. (astronomy, physics, measurement, cgs) lambert
7. (linguistics) low tone
8. (linguistics) A wildcard for a lateral or liquid consonant
9. (Voice Quality Symbols) position of the larynx (modified for raised, lowered)
10. (usually clothing) large (the manufactured size)

• (liter, litre): l, ℒ, ℓ
• (Roman numeral): ↆ (obsolete)

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of L, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase L in Fraktur

Other representations of L:

• (letter) IPA^(key): /ɛl/
  • Rhymes: -ɛl
• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /l/
• (main allophones) IPA^(key): [l], [ɫ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Audio (UK)

(file)

L (upper case, lower case l, plural Ls or L's)

1. The twelfth letter of the English alphabet, called el and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The ordinal number twelfth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called el and written in the Latin script.

Abbreviation.

L

1. (sports) The statistic for the number of losses by a team or player limited by some criteria (e.g. this season, at home, on turf).
2. Alternative spelling of el (“elevated train”)
   • 1925 February 21, "Co-operation" (cartoon), The New Yorker, page 2,

     PLEASE! HELP US KEEP THE "L" AND SUBWAY CLEAN

3. (US, politics) Abbreviation of Libertarian.
4. Initialism of left.
5. Initialism of Latin.
6. (usually clothing, singular only) Initialism of large (the manufactured size or an item of that size).
7. Initialism of lira.
8. Initialism of loss.
9. Initialism of lobby.
10. Abbreviation of low pressure front.

• (sports): OTL
• (loss): take the L

• (sports): T, W, OTW

L (not comparable)

1. (usually clothing) Initialism of large (of the manufactured size).
2. Initialism of left.
3. (linguistics) Initialism of low (variety of a language with limited prestige and official acceptance).

   an L variety

4. (slang) Subpar, of inferior quality.

   Antonym: W

L

1. The sixteenth letter in the Afar alphabet.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, T t, S s, E e, C c, K k, X x, I i, D d, Q q, R r, F f, G g, O o, L l, M m, N n, U u, W w, H h, Y y

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛl/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letter; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

L (plural L's, diminutive L'etjie)

1. L

L upper case (lower case l)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /ele/, [e̞.le̞]

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Basque alphabet, called ele and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• /l/ is from West Germanic *l.

• IPA^(key): /l/

L

1. A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
2. A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

Initialism of 撚.

L

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, euphemistic) Alternative form of 撚 (lan2)

L

1. (Cantonese) litre

• lit

L

1. The twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet.

L

1. The twelfth letter used in Pinyin.

• 《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
• The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).
• The official pronunciation defined in 《汉语拼音方案》, ㄝㄌ (ê̄l), is not a valid syllable in Pinyin.

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛl/

• Audio

  (file)

L (capital, lowercase l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Dutch alphabet.

• Previous: K
• Next: M

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /lo/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /l/

• Audio

  (file)

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called lo and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, Ĉ ĉ, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ĝ ĝ, H h, Ĥ ĥ, I i, J j, Ĵ ĵ, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, Ŝ ŝ, T t, U u, Ŭ ŭ, V v, Z z

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called ell and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) täht; A a, B b (C c), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Š š, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called äl or el and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

L

1. Abbreviation of laudatur.

L m

1. Abbreviation of leste (“east”).

• (east): E

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

• IPA^(key): /ʔɛl/

• Audio

  (file)

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the German alphabet.

Abbreviation.

L m

1. Abbreviation of Liter.

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈl]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈɛlː]

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The nineteenth letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called ell and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

• IPA^(key): /l/

L (lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛl/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /l/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Indonesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) huruf; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈɛl.le/
  • Rhymes: -ɛlle
• (phonemic realization) IPA^(key): /l/

L f or m (invariable, upper case, lower case l)

1. The tenth letter of the Italian alphabet, called elle and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) lettera; A a (À à), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Πî, J j, K k), L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v (W w, X x, Y y), Z z
• Italian alphabet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

• IPA^(key): [l]

L

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called el and written in the Latin script.

• Letters of the Latvian alphabet:

  burti: Aa, Āā, Bb, Cc, Čč, Dd, Ee, Ēē, Ff, Gg, Ģģ, Hh, Ii, Īī, Jj, Kk, Ķķ, Ll, Ļļ, Mm, Nn, Ņņ, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Šš, Tt, Uu, Ūū, Vv, Zz, Žž

• (Name of letter) IPA^(key): [ɛl]
• (Phoneme) IPA^(key): [l]

L

1. The twelfth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /l/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) banki; A a (Á á, À à), B b, C c, D d, Dz dz, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì), J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, Ts ts, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Polish alphabet, called el and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, B b, C c, Ć ć, D d, E e, Ę ę, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, Ń ń, O o, Ó ó, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Ś ś, T t, U u (V v), W w (X x), Y y, Z z, Ź ź, Ż ż

• L in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• L in Polish dictionaries at PWN

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à,  â, àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /l/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. (International Standard) The sixteenth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
2. (Pan-Vlax) The seventeenth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

• IPA^(key): /l/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called el, le, or lî and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ă ă,  â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Πî, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /l/, /lʼ/

L

1. The eighteenth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A, Á, Ⱥ, B, C, Ć, Ȼ, D, E, H, I, Í, J, K, Ꝁ, Ꝃ, ₭, Ḵ, Ḱ, L, Ƚ, M, N, Ṉ, O, P, Q, S, Ś, T, Ⱦ, Ṯ, Ŧ, U, W, W̲, X, X̲, Y, Z, s, ,

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /l/

L (lower case l)

1. The twentieth letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) bukva; A a,  â, B b, C c, Č č, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ, D d, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, Ǧ ǧ, Ǥ ǥ, H h, I i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, O o, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, ʹ

L (capital, lowercase l)

1. The 13th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by K and followed by M.

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /l/
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /læːn/

L upper case (lower case l)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Somali alphabet, called laan and written in the Latin script.

1. The seventeenth letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by K and followed by M.

• (Latin-script letters) ', B b, T t, J j, X x, Kh kh, D d, R r, S s, Sh sh, Dh dh, C c, G g, F f, Q q, K k, L l, M m, N n, W w, H h, Y y, A a, E e, I i, O o, U u

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. the 12th letter of the Spanish alphabet

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called le and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) harf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɛ˧˧ ləː˨˩], [ləː˨˩ kaːw˧˧], [ləː˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɛ˧˧ ləː˦˩], [ləː˦˩ kaːw˧˧], [ləː˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɛ˧˧ ləː˨˩], [ləː˨˩ kaːw˧˧], [ləː˨˩]
• Phonetic: e lờ, lờ cao, lờ

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fourteenth letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called e-lờ, lờ cao, or lờ and written in the Latin script.

• (Quốc ngữ letters) chữ cái; A a (À à, Ả ả, àã, Á á, Ạ ạ), Ă ă (Ằ ằ, Ẳ ẳ, Ẵ ẵ, Ắ ắ, Ặ ặ),  â (Ầ ầ, Ẩ ẩ, Ẫ ẫ, Ấ ấ, Ậ ậ), B b, C c (Ch ch), D d, Đ đ, E e (È è, Ẻ ẻ, Ẽ ẽ, É é, Ẹ ẹ), Ê ê (Ề ề, Ể ể, Ễ ễ, Ế ế, Ệ ệ), G g (Gh gh, Gi gi), H h, I i (Ì ì, Ỉ ỉ, Ĩ ĩ, Í í, Ị ị), K k (Kh kh), L l, M m, N n (Ng ng, Ngh ngh, Nh nh), O o (Ò ò, Ỏ ỏ, Õ õ, Ó ó, Ọ ọ), Ô ô (Ồ ồ, Ổ ổ, Ỗ ỗ, Ố ố, Ộ ộ), Ơ ơ (Ờ ờ, Ở ở, Ỡ ỡ, Ớ ớ, Ợ ợ), P p (Ph ph), Q q (Qu qu), R r, S s, T t (Th th, Tr tr), U u (Ù ù, Ủ ủ, Ũ ũ, Ú ú, Ụ ụ), Ư ư (Ừ ừ, Ử ử, Ữ ữ, Ứ ứ, Ự ự), V v, X x, Y y (Ỳ ỳ, Ỷ ỷ, Ỹ ỹ, Ý ý, Ỵ ỵ)

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ɛl/
  • (informal) IPA^(key): /l/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The fourteenth letter of the Welsh alphabet, called el and written in the Latin script. It is preceded by J and followed by Ll.

• L cannot be mutated in Welsh.

• (Latin-script letters) llythyren; A a (Á á, À à,  â, Ä ä), B b, C c, Ch ch, D d, Dd dd, E e (É é, È è, Ê ê, Ë ë), F f, Ff ff, G g, Ng ng, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Πî, Ï ï), J j, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ô ô, Ö ö), P p, Ph ph, R r, Rh rh, S s, T t, Th th, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, Ü ü), W w (Ẃ ẃ, Ẁ ẁ, Ŵ ŵ, Ẅ ẅ), Y y (Ý ý, Ỳ ỳ, Ŷ ŷ, Ÿ ÿ)

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), chapter L, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /l/
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /lí/

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Yoruba alphabet, called lí and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) lẹ́tà; A a (Á á, À à, Ā ā), B b, D d, E e (É é, È è, Ē ē), Ẹ ẹ (Ẹ́ ẹ́, Ẹ̀ ẹ̀, Ẹ̄ ẹ̄), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Ī ī), J j, K k, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ō ō), Ọ ọ (Ọ́ ọ́, Ọ̀ ọ̀, Ọ̄ ọ̄), P p, R r, S s, Ṣ ṣ, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Ū ū), W w, Y y

• As used in Benin: (Latin-script letters) lɛ́tà; A a, B b, D d, E e, Ɛ ɛ, F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i, J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ɔ ɔ, P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, U u, W w, Y y

L (upper case, lower case l)

1. The twelfth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z