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alba

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alba¹

  • /ˈæl.bə/ UK

Where it comes from

First attested in 1821; borrowed from Occitan alba, ultimately from Latin albus (“white”); compare Spanish alba (“dawn”).

noun albas

  1. A type of lyrical poetry, traditionally Provençal, about lovers who must part at dawn.

alba²

  • /ˈæl.bə/ UK

Where it comes from

First attested in 1848; borrowed from Latin alba (the feminine form of albus (“white”)) in the now-disused species name of binomial nomenclature Rosa alba (it is now considered a hybrid and is accordingly called Rosa × alba).

noun albas

  1. A white-flowered shrub rose of the hybrid Rosa × alba.
  2. A flower of the hybrid Rosa × alba.

alba³

  • /ˈæl.bə/ UK

Where it comes from

First attested in 1859; borrowed from Latin alba, the nominative plural form of album (“blank tablet”), whence the English album.

noun

  1. plural, rare plural of album For quotations using this term, see Citations:alba.

alba⁴

  • /ˈæl.bə/ UK

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin alba (“alb”), from Latin alba (as in tunica alba (“white tunic”), vestis alba (“white garment”)), feminine of albus (“white”). Doublet of alb.

noun albas

  1. Synonym of alb. On a little plot of grass near the kitchen the family were spreading out a large supply of priestly vestments—albas, casullas, capas pluviales, ornamentos, parmentos, cíngulas, estolas, frontales, etc., etc., etc.

    Similar: alb

Alba⁵

  • /ˈɑlbə/
  • /ˈælbə/

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Romanian Alba.

proper noun

  1. A county of Transylvania, Romania.

Alba⁶

  • /ˈɑlbə/
  • /ˈælbə/

Where it comes from

From Scottish Gaelic Alba, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1. Related to albino, Albania and Elbe. More at Albany.

proper noun

  1. historical, poetic, rare Scotland, especially referring to the Kingdom of Alba, Scotland, between 900 and 1286.

Alba⁷

  • /ˈɑlbə/
  • /ˈælbə/

Where it comes from

From Spanish Alba, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 and 2.

proper noun

  1. A female given name from Spanish alba (“dawn”), of modern usage.
  2. A habitational surname from place names of obscure origin.

proper noun

  1. abbreviation Abbreviation of Aluminium Bahrain

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: alma, morning, dawn, sunrise, sun, lochia, elba, alban, ramirez, aiba, ciconia, iulia, populus, sunup, first light, daybreak

Translations

Every language

noun Translations

Русскийа́льба álʹba

name county of Romania

DeutschKarlsburg
RomânăAlba
РусскийА́лба Álba

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Cite this
MLA

"alba." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/alba. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

alba. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/alba

Chicago

"alba." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/alba.

BibTeX
@misc{alba_2026,
  title = {alba},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/alba},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}