I learned the English word 'alas' from the song "
Oh my darling Clementine":
Ruby lips above the water,
Blowing bubbles soft and fine
But alas for me, I was no swimmer.
So I lost my Clementine.
The origin of this word is, of course, the French word "hélas" that means 'unfortunately, unhappily'.
The French word "hélas" is only poetic today, I believe.
I can't help telling a true story: Some thirty years ago we were some journalists in Paris, and before the official dinner we went to a bar to take a drink. Immediately there were a couple of (professional) girls suggesting a pleasant program for the evening and the night. As I was the only one of us who could speak French I tried to say in a polite way (in French, of course): "Alas, we have a program for tonight."
My idea of "hélas" was "unfortunately". But the French girls laughed to pee in their pants when they heard me using that word.
Well, we learn a new word every day!