# الو
## Bulgar
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *elig.

#### Noun

الُو (elü)
* hand
    عُلَمَا سَمنَ سَوَان مَسجِد سَمنَ عَمَارَة طَنَان اَكِل خَيرَاتلُ الُوى بَرَكاتلُ مُون سُوَار يَالِ [...] عَلىِ خوَاجَه آولِ آترَج خُواجَه آولِ آبُوبَكَر خُوَاجَه آولِ آلِبْ خُواجَه بَلُوى كُ ― 'Ulamâsemne sevên mescidsemne 'amâret tanân ekil hayrâtlu, elüwi berekâtlu Mûn Suwâr yêli [...] Ali howâce awli Atrac howâce awli Abûbeker howâce awli Alıp howâce belüwi kü. ― This is the monument of teacher [...] Ali's son teacher Atrac's son teacher Ebubeker's son teacher Alıp, who loves scholars and builds mosques, very beneficent, whose hands are fertile, who is descent from the big Suwâr clan.

##### Descendants

* Chuvash: алӑ (ală)

#### References

* ↑ Agyágasi, Klára (2019) Chuvash Historical Phonetics (Turcologica; 117), Wiesbaden: Harrssowitz, page 170
* Tekin, Talât (1988) Volga Bulgar kitabeleri ve Volga Bulgarcası [Volga Bulgarian Ephitaphs and Volga Bulgarian Language]‎ (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, →ISBN, pages 190-191
* Erdal, Marcel (1993) Die Sprache der wolgabolgarischen Inschriften (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 32

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Turkic *ellig.

#### Alternative forms

* اَلُّ (ellü)

#### Noun

الُو (el$^l$üw)
* fifty

##### Descendants

* Chuvash: аллӑ (allă)

#### References

* Tekin, Talât (1988) Volga Bulgar kitabeleri ve Volga Bulgarcası [Volga Bulgarian Ephitaphs and Volga Bulgarian Language]‎ (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, →ISBN, pages 94, 198

## Burushaski
### Etymology

Borrowed from Urdu آلُو (ālū).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [aːluː]

### Noun

الو (aaluu)
* potato

### References

* Bechtholdt, Astrid (2025) “aaluu”, in Burushaski Hunza Dictionary (Webonary), Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL International, published 2017.

## Malay
### Noun

الو (plural الو-الو or الو۲, informal 1st possessive الوکو, 2nd possessive الومو, 3rd possessive الوڽ)
* Jawi spelling of alu‎

## Pashto
### Etymology 1

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

#### Noun

الو • (alu) ?
* plum

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Urdu آلُو (ālū, “potato”).

#### Noun

الو • (alu) ?
* potato

## Persian
### Alternative forms

* علو (alow) (archaic)
* آلاوه (âlâve) (archaic)
* آلاو (âlâv) (archaic)
* الاو (alâv) (archaic)

### Etymology 1

A Turkic borrowing, compare Azerbaijani alov, Uzbek olov, Turkish alev, Kazakh алау (alau).

#### Noun

| Dari | الو |
| Iranian Persian | الو |
| Tajik | алов |
الو • (alow)
* (dialectal) flame, blaze

#### References

* ↑ Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “alev”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from French allô.

#### Interjection

الو • (alo)
* hello (when answering the telephone)

## Urdu
### Etymology

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀉𑀮𑀽𑀅 (ulūa), from Sanskrit उलूक (úlūka). Cognate with Gujarati ઉલ્લૂ (ullū) and Punjabi الو (ullū).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /ʊl.luː/
* Rhymes: -uː

### Noun

اُلُّو • (ullū) m (Hindi spelling उल्लू)
* owl
* (slang, offensive) idiot, fool

### Further reading

* “الو”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “الو”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
* Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “الو”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.
* Platts, John T. (1884) “الو”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
* S. W. Fallon (1879) “الو”, in A New Hindustani-English Dictionary, Banaras, London: Trubner and Co.
* John Shakespear (1834) “الو”, in A dictionary, Hindustani and English: with a copious index, fitting the work to serve, also, as a dictionary of English and Hindustani, 3rd edition, London: J.L. Cox and Son, →OCLC