Wallah
/wəˈlɑː/noun
An interjection used to emphasize that one is telling the truth, meaning “I swear to God.”
Did you know?Wallah comes from the Arabic oath wa-llāh, literally “by God,” formed by placing wa- (“by”) before Allāh.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ʔilāh
“A god or deity”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ilāh
“A god or divine being”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
Allāh
“God, literally “the deity””
Classical Arabic
Arabic
wa-llāh
“By God; an oath invoking God”
20th Century
English
wallah
“An English-language rendering of the Arabic oath, used to insist that one is telling the truth”