Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for A-LAS'
A-LAS', exclam. [Dutch, helaas; Fr. hélas.]
An exclamation expressive of sorrow, grief, pity, concern, or apprehension of evil; sometimes followed by day or while; alas the day, like alack a day; or alas the while, [Obs.] Spenser, expressing an unhappy time.
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