# \*ʾawl- 'precede, be first' 1, 'priority, supremacy' 2, 'strength, (military) force' 3

A Proto-Semitic root the Linear A Lexicon's readings rest on.

- Author's gloss: to be first, precede; supremacy; strength
- Record: https://github.com/plasma-ai/kaphtor/blob/50525edd50131a50e59ec82bf5132da0fa89efc9/wiki/semitic-roots/%CA%BE/3783_precede_be_first_1_priority_supremacy_2_strength.md

## In Linear A

- [O-RA₂](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/O-RA~E2~82~82/index.md>) (ʾŌl): the Foremost (name element), from 'priority, supremacy'

## Notes

DULAT 128 sets ảwl beside Arab. ʔāla, ʔawila. Not SA144 *ʾwl 'bring (back)', the sense 'return' of the same Arabic verb.

## Reflexes: East Semitic

- Eblaitic: ʾūl 3: ù-lum /ʾūlum/; names ù-la-ma /ʾūla=ma/, ù-la-ga-mu, ù-la-ma-du /ʾūla=maʾdu/ (Sanmartín GlOS 1, 53); ʾawal 2: a-wa-lum (= Sum. GABA.GÁL) (Sanmartín GlOS 1, 53) (gloss withheld)

## Reflexes: Northwest Semitic

- Ugaritic: ảwl 2: ỉ<š>ttk l ảwl (KTU 1.12 II 56; DULAT 128); ủl 3 (DULAT 50) (gloss withheld)
- Hebrew: *אול 1, 3 (HALOT 21) (gloss withheld)
- Judaic Aramaic: אַוְלָא 1 (HALOT 21) (gloss withheld)

## Reflexes: Arabic

- Arabic: ʾāla, ʾawila 'he preceded, went before; was first, or foremost' 1; ʾawwal 'first' (Lane 126)
- Pre-Islamic North Arabian: Safaitic ʾwl 1 (Al-Jallad 2026, 10) (gloss withheld)

## Reflexes: Ethiopic and Modern South Arabian

- Mehri: ḥāwǝláy 1; ḥāwīl (Rubin 2018 822, 100) (gloss withheld)
- Tigre: ʾawal 1 (WTS 378 apud HALOT 21) (gloss withheld)

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Page: https://linear-a.ai/roots/3783/
Licence: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cite as: di Mino, Tom. 2026. Linear A Lexicon. Plasma AI. https://linear-a.ai/. Data: kaphtor, commit 50525edd.