Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

A

A

(named ā in the English, and most commonly ä in other languages)
.
The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter (a), besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek
Alpha
, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter ([GREEK]) of the Phœnician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the ä sound, the Phœnician alphabet having no vowel symbols.
This letter, in English, is used for several different vowel sounds. See Guide to pronunciation, §§ 43-74. The regular long a, as in fate, etc., is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was a sound of the quality of ä (as in far ).
2.
(Mus.)
The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale (that in C), or the first tone of the minor scale, which is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. – A sharp (A♯) is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. – A flat (A♭) is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G.
A per se
(L.
per se
by itself)
,
one preëminent; a nonesuch.
[Obs.]
O fair Creseide, the flower and
A per se

Of Troy and Greece.
Chaucer.

A

(ȧ emph. ā)
.
1.
[Shortened form of
an
. AS. ān one. See
One
.]
An adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and signifying one or any, but less emphatically.
“At a birth”; “In a word”; “At a blow”.
Shak.
It is placed before nouns of the singular number denoting an individual object, or a quality individualized, before collective nouns, and also before plural nouns when the adjective few or the phrase great many or good many is interposed;
as,
a
dog,
a
house,
a
man;
a
color;
a
sweetness;
a
hundred,
a
fleet,
a
regiment;
a
few persons,
a
great many days.
It is used for an, for the sake of euphony, before words beginning with a consonant sound [for exception of certain words beginning with h, see
An
];
as, a table,
a woman
,
a
year,
a
unit,
a
eulogy,
a
ewe,
a
oneness, such
a
one, etc.
Formally an was used both before vowels and consonants.
2.
[Originally the preposition
a
(
an
,
on
).]
In each; to or for each;
as, “twenty leagues
a
day”, “a hundred pounds
a
year”, “a dollar
a
yard”, etc.

A

(ȧ)
,
p
rep.
[Abbreviated form of
an
(AS.
on
). See
On
.]
1.
In; on; at; by.
[Obs.]
“A God’s name.” “Torn a pieces.” “Stand a tiptoe.” “A Sundays”
Shak.
“Wit that men have now a days.”
Chaucer.
“Set them a work.”
Robynson (More's Utopia).
2.
In process of; in the act of; into; to; – used with verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant. This is a shortened form of the preposition an (which was used before the vowel sound); as in a hunting, a building, a begging.
“Jacob, when he was a dying”
Heb. xi. 21.
“We'll a birding together.” “ It was a doing.”
Shak.
“He burst out a laughing.”
Macaulay.
The hyphen may be used to connect a with the verbal substantive (as, a-hunting, a-building) or the words may be written separately. This form of expression is now for the most part obsolete, the a being omitted and the verbal substantive treated as a participle.

A

.
[From AS.
of
off, from. See
Of
.]
Of.
[Obs.]
“The name of John a Gaunt.” “What time a day is it ?”
Shak.
“It's six a clock.”
B. Jonson.

A

.
A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it and of they.
“So would I a done” “A brushes his hat.”
Shak.

A

.
An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter
A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in a mile-
a
.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

A

A

is the first letter of the Alphabet in most of the known languages of the earth; in the Ethiopic, however it is the thirteenth, and in the Runic the tenth. It is naturally the first letter, because it represents the first vocal sound naturally formed by the human organs; being the sound uttered with a mere opening of the mouth without constraint, and without any effort to alter the natural position or configuration of the lips. The A has been proven to be the first natural vocal sound, and entitled to the first place in alphabets.

A

has in English, three sounds; the long or slender, as in place, fate; the broad, as in wall, fall, which is shortened in salt, what; and the open, as in father, glass, which is shortened in rather, fancy. Its primitive sound was probably aw. A is also an abbreviation used before words beginning with an articulation; as a table, instead of an table, or one table. This is a modern change.
This letter serves as a prefix to many English words, as in asleep; awake; afoot; aground; agoing. In some cases, this is a contraction of Teutonic ge, as in asleep, aware, from the Saxon geslapan, to sleep, to beware. Sometimes it is a corruption of the Saxon on, as again from ongean , awake from onwacian to watch or wake. Before participles, it may be a contraction of the Celtic ag, the sign of the participle of the present tense; as, ag-radh, saying; a saying, a going. Or this may be a contraction of on, or what is equally probable, it may have proceeded from a mere accidental sound produced by negligent utterance. In some words, a may be a contraction of at, of, in, to, or an. In some words of Greek original, a is privative, giving to them a negative sense, as in anonymous.

A

mong the ancients, A was a numeral denoting 500, and with a dash A 5000. In the Julian Calendar, A is the first of the seven dominical letters.

A

mong logicians, A, as an abbreviation, stands for a universal affirmative proposition. A asserts; E denies. Thus in barbara, a thrice repeated denotes so many of the propositions to be universal.
The Romans used A to signify a negative or dissent in giving their votes; A standing for antiquo, I oppose or object to the proposed law. Opposed to this letter were U R, uti rogas, be it as you desire - the words used to express assent to a proposition. These letters were marked on wooden ballots, and each voter had an affirmative and a negative put into his hands, one of which at pleasure he gave as his vote, - In criminal trials, A stood for absolvo, I acquit, C for condemno, I condemn; and N L for non liquet, it is not evident; and the judges voted by ballots this marked. In inscriptions, A stands for Augustus; or for ager, aiunt, , aurum, argentum, &c.

A

is also used for anno, or ante; as in Anno Domini, the year of our Lord; anno mundi, the year of the world; ante meridiem, before noon, and for arts, in artium magister, master of arts.
In algebra, a and first letters of the alphabet represent known quantities - the last letters are sometimes used to represent unknown quantities.
music, A is the nominal of the sixth note in the natural diatonic scale - called by Guido la. It is also the name of one of the two natural moods; and it is the open note of the 2d string of the violin, by which the other strings are tuned and regulated.
In pharmacy, a or aa, abbreviations of the Greek ana, signify of each separately, or that the things mentioned should be taken in quantities of the same weight or measure.
In chimistry, A A A stand for amalgama, or amalgamation.
In commerce, A stands for accepted, as in case of a bill of exchange. Merchants also number their books by the letters - A,B,C, instead of figures. Public officers number their exhibits in the same manner; as the document A, or B.

A

lpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet, are used in Scripture for the beginning and end - representative of Christ.
In mathematics, letters are used as representatives of numbers, lines, angles and quantities. In arguments, letters are substituted for persons, in cases supposed, or stated for illustration, as A contracts with B to deliver property to D. - In the English phraseology "a landlord as a hundred a year," " the sum amounted to ten dollars a man," a is merely the adjective one, and this mode of expression is idiomatic; a hundred in a year; ten dollars to a man.

Definition 2024

A

A


A U+0041, A
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
← @
[U+0040] 		Basic Latin B →
[U+0042]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "a"

Translingual

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek letter Α ‎(A, “alpha”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 ‎(ʼ, “aleph”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑː/, /a/ (most languages)

Letter

A upper case (lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
See also

Symbol

A

  1. Marks the first item in a list
    A. Go to the store. B. Get some food. C. Return home. D. Eat.
  2. A hypothetical item or person designated the first when there are more than one.
    Person A had 5 apples, and person B...
  3. (computing) The hexadecimal digit for 10
    0x0000000A
    The value is hexadecimal A0, or decimal 160.
  4. A standard size of dry cell battery slightly larger than a AA battery.[1]
  5. A system of paper sizes with similar proportions, as A0, A1, A2, etc.[2]
See also
  • (previous) 9, (next) B

Related terms

Etymology 2

The abbreviation of a variety of terms.

Symbol

A

  1. (chemistry, obsolete) Symbol for the element Argon (Since 1956 has been changed to Ar).
  2. (geometry) area

Abbreviation

A

  1. (physics, International System of Units) ampere, a unit of electrical current.
  2. (genetics) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for adenine in genetic code.
  3. (biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for alanine in proteins.
  4. (vehicle-distinguishing signs) Austria

See also

Other representations of A:

References

  1. ↑ Christine A. Lindberg (editor), The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition (Spark Publishing, 2007 [2002], ISBN 978-1-4114-0500-4), page 1
  2. ↑ Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 1

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (letter name)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ
    The current pronunciation is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 15th century, was similar to that in other languages.

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a, plural As or A's)

  1. The first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
    Apple starts with A.‎
Related terms
See also

Number

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The ordinal number first, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
    The item A is "foods", the item B is "drinks".‎

Etymology 2

  • (highest rank, grade, music): From the initial position of the letter A in the English alphabet.
  • (blood type): From A antigen
  • (vehicle-distinguishing signs): From Austria

Symbol

A

  1. The highest rank on any of various scales that assign letters.
    We assign each item inspected a rating from A through G, depending on various factors.‎
    1. Bond rating
  2. (education) The highest letter grade assigned (disregarding plusses and minuses).
    I was so happy to get an A on that test.‎
  3. (music) A tone three fifths above C in the cycle of fifths; the sixth tone of the C major scale; the first note of the minor scale of A minor; the reference tone that occurs at exactly 440 Hz; the printed or written note A; the scale with A as its keynote.[1][2]
    Orchestras traditionally tune to a concert A.‎
  4. (medicine) A blood type that has a specific antigen that aggravates the immune response in people with type B antigen in their blood. They may receive blood from type A or type O but cannot receive blood from AB or B.
    My blood type is A negative.‎
  5. (chemistry) Mass number.
  6. (logic) A universal affirmative suggestion.[1]
  7. acoustic source
  8. actual weight of an aircraft
  9. (historical) adulterer, adulteress
  10. Alaska Steamship Company
  11. Alcoa Steamship Company
  12. allele dominant
  13. alveolar gas
  14. American Stock Exchange
  15. ammunition examiner
  16. Anchor Line
  17. aspect ratio
  18. Assembly Bill
  19. Smallest of the brassiere cup sizes.
  20. Chemical activity.
  21. first van der Waals constant
  22. Fraunhofer line for oxygen
  23. (aviation) hail
  24. (in newspaper stock listings) includes extras
  25. linear acceleration
  26. mean sound absorption coefficient
  27. Shoe size narrower than B
  28. (baseball) Single A league, one of the lowest professional leagues.
  29. Total acidity.
Derived terms

Abbreviation

A

  1. Ace
  2. Acre
  3. Adult; as used in film rating
  4. Ammeter
  5. (physics) angstrom
  6. Answer
  7. (sports) An assist
  8. (sexuality) An asexual
  9. (weaponry) atom; atomic
  10. (Britain, London) arsehole
Synonyms
  • (physics, angstrom): Å
Derived terms

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: little · now · then · #79: A · should · can · made

References

  1. 1 2 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 1
  2. ↑ Christine A. Lindberg (editor), The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition (Spark Publishing, 2007 [2002], ISBN 978-1-4114-0500-4), page 1

American Sign Language

Alternative forms

  • (with the thumb extended) OpenA

Etymology

From French Sign Language sign for the letter A.

Production

This one-handed ASL sign is produced as follows:

  • Posture the dominant hand in the “A” handshape .

Letter

‎(Stokoe A)

  1. The letter A

See also

  • Index:American Sign Language/A

Azeri

Letter

A upper case (lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic) IPA(key): /ˈa/
  • (Central) IPA(key): /ˈa/
  • (Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈa/

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Catalan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
  • Rhymes: -æː

Etymology 1

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also

Etymology 2

Noun

A n (singular definite A'et, plural indefinite A'er)

  1. The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Inflection

Alternative forms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aː/

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Esperanto

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /a/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /a/

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Finnish

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Finnish alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.

See also

Abbreviation

A

  1. approbatur

French

Pronunciation

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

  • bombe A
  • prouver par A plus B, prouver par A + B

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔaː/
  • Rhymes: -aː

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

A n ‎(genitive A's, plural A's)

  1. A
    Von A bis Z.
    From A to Z.
    Wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen.
    One who says A shall also say B.

Declension

German Sign Language

Etymology

Related to the French Sign Language sign for "A".

Production

This one-handed GSL sign is produced as follows:

  • Posture the dominant hand in the “A” shape.

Letter

  1. the letter A

Hungarian

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme; name of letter) IPA(key): /a/
  • Homophones: a, ha

Letter

A m, f ‎(invariable, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Italian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Latin

Pronunciation

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. (sometimes with littera) The first letter of the Latin alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Abbreviation

A

  1. (in dates) ante (“before”)
    A. D. — ante diem
  2. (in dates) anno, annus (“year”)
    A. U. C. — anno urbis conditae
    A. P. R. C. — anno post Romam conditam
  3. Aulus (a Roman given name)
    • Inscriptiones Orelli 1530: A. A. — Auli duo
  4. aquae (“waters”)
    • Inscriptiones Orelli 1643 sequens; 2620; 3011: A.A. — Aquae Aponi (“Abano Terme”)
  5. auro, argento, or aeri (the three directors of the mint)
    • Inscriptiones Orelli 569; 2242; 2379; 3134 alia: III. VIRI A. A. A. F. F. — auro, argento, aeri flando, feriundo
  6. agris (“fields”)
    • A. D. A. — agris dandis adsignandis
    • A. I. A. — agris judicandis adsignandis
  7. (upon the voting tablets in judicial trials) absolvo (“I free”, “I acquit”)
  8. (in the Roman Comitia) antiquo — “I leave in its former state”, “I reject” [e.g. the point in question]
  9. amicō (“friend”)
    A. O. — amico optimo — “best friend”
  10. a (“to”)
    A. P. — a populo
  11. aediliciae
    A. P. — aediliciae potestatis
  12. aerario
    A. P. R. — aerario populi Romani
  13. (in Cicero's Tusculanae Disputationes, “Tusculan Disputations”) adulescens or auditor, one of the disputants, as opposed to M. for magister or Marcus

See also

References

Latvian

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [a]

Letter

A

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Latvian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German ouga, from Proto-Germanic *augô, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‎(“eye; to see”). The phonetic development in Luxembourgish is regular: Old High German -ou- becomes -ā-; intervocalic -g- is lost; word-final short vowels are apocopated.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aː/
    • Rhymes: -aː

Noun

A n ‎(plural Aen)

  1. eye
    Ech hunn eppes am A.
    I have something in my eye.

Malay

Pronunciation

  • (Name of letter) IPA(key): [e]
  • (Phoneme) IPA(key): [ä]
  • (Phoneme, Open ultima) IPA(key): [ə], [ɐ]

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Norwegian Bokmål

Letter

A ‎(uppercase, lowercase a)

  1. The first letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

A m ‎(definite singular A-en, indefinite plural A-er, definite plural A-ene)

  1. letter A

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/ (example of pronunciation)

Letter

A ‎(uppercase, lowercase a)

  1. The first letter of the Norwegian Nynorsk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

A m ‎(definite singular A-en, indefinite plural A-ar, definite plural A-ane)

  1. letter A

Portuguese

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

A m (plural As)

  1. Alternative form of á

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Romanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Saanich

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /e/

Letter

A

  1. The first letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Scots

Etymology

Old English iċ.

Pronunciation

  • (stressed) IPA(key): /ɑː/
  • (unstressed) IPA(key): /ə/

Pronoun

A ‎(first person singular, emphatic I)

  1. I

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /ɑ/

Letter

A ‎(lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Slovene

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Related terms

  • od A do Ž

See also

Somali

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /æ/, /ɑ/
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ʔæ/

Letter

A upper case (lower case a)

  1. The twenty-third letter of the Somali alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  1. The twenty-third letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by Y and followed by E.

See also

Spanish

Etymology 1

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Spanish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of alfil.

Noun

A m

  1. (chess) bishop
    • 1997, Anatoly Karpov, EL AJEDREZ. Aprender y progresar, page 24:
      19. Ac4xd5, Ab7xd5
    • 1998, Benito López Esnaola, Ajedrez a la ciega, page 87:
      Tae1, Ae6;
    • 2006, Antonio Lopez Manzano, Joan Segura Vila, “Los Errores en la Apertura. Las celadas.”, in Iniciación al ajedrez, volume 59, page 79:
      Veamos un ejemplo: 1. e4, e5; 2. Cf3, Cc6; 3. Ac4, Cd4?

Turkish

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Turkish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Letter

A ‎(upper case, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Interjection

A!

  1. hah!

a

a


a U+0061, a
LATIN SMALL LETTER A
← `
[U+0060] 		Basic Latin b →
[U+0062]
See also: A, Appendix:Variations of "a", and 𐌳

Translingual

Etymology 1

Modification of capital letter A, from Latin A, from Ancient Greek letter Α ‎(A).

Pronunciation

  • (letter, most languages): IPA(key): /ɑː/, /a/

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

a

  1. (phonetics) Used in the International Phonetic Alphabet and in several romanization systems of non-Latin scripts to represent an open front unrounded vowel.

See also

External links

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of atto-, from Danish atten ‎(“eighteen”).

Symbol

a

  1. atto-, the prefix for 10-18 in the International System of Units.

Etymology 3

From Latin annus

Symbol

a

  1. A year in SI Units, specifically a Julian year or exactly 365.25 days.

Etymology 4

Abbreviation [please replace this header]

Symbol

a

  1. An are, a unit of area of which 100 comprise a hectare; ares.
  2. (physics) acceleration

Other representations of A:

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (letter name)
    • (UK, US) IPA(key): /eɪ/
    • (Australia) IPA(key): /æɪ/
    • Rhymes: -eɪ
    The current pronunciation resulted from the Great Vowel Shift. Before the early part of the 17th century, the pronunciation was similar to that in other languages.
  • (phoneme) /æ/, /ɑː/, /eɪ/, ...

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A, plural a's)

  1. The first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
Usage notes

In English, the letter a usually denotes the near-open front unrounded vowel (/æ/), as in pad, the open back unrounded vowel (/ɑː/) as in father, or, followed by another vowel, the diphthong /eɪ/, as in ace.

a is the third-most common letter in English.

Derived terms
See also

Numeral

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The ordinal number first, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a ‎(plural aes)[1]

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.
See also
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English a, from Old English ān ‎(“one; a; lone; sole”). The "n" was gradually lost before consonants in almost all dialects by the 15th century.

Pronunciation

  • (stressed) IPA(key): /eɪ/
  • (unstressed) IPA(key): /ə/

Article

a ‎(indefinite)

  1. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group. [First attested prior to 1150][2]
    There was a man here looking for you yesterday.‎
    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page vii
      With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]
    • 2005, Emily Kingsley (lyricist), Kevin Clash (voice actor), “A Cookie is a Sometime Food”, Sesame Street, season 36, Sesame Workshop:
      Hoots the Owl: Yes a, fruit, is a [sic], any, time, food!
  2. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word.
    I've seen it happen a hundred times.‎
  3. One certain or particular; any single. [First attested between around 1150 to 1350][2]
    We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.‎
  4. The same; one. [16th Century][2]
    We are of a mind on matters of morals.‎
  5. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope;[1] also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.[3]
    A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties.‎
    He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head?‎
  6. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc.
  7. Someone or something like; similar to;[3]Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it.
    The center of the village was becoming a Times Square.‎
Usage notes
Main appendix: English articles#Indefinite articles
  • In standard English, the article a is used before consonant sounds, while an is used before vowel sounds; for more, see the usage notes about an.
Translations

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ə/

Preposition

a

  1. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. [First attested before 1150][2]
    Stand a tiptoe.‎
  2. To do with separation; In, into. [First attested before 1150][2]
    Torn a pieces.‎
  3. (archaic) To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. [First attested before 1150][2]
    I brush my teeth twice a day.‎
    • 1601, Shakespeare, Hamlet, IV-v
      A Sundays
  4. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. [First attested before 1150][2]
    • Marlowe, C.
      Stands here a purpose.
  5. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. [First attested before 1150][2]
    A God’s name.‎
  6. To do with status; In. [First attested before 1150][2]
  7. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. [First attested before 1150][2]
    • 1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’
      The times, they are a-changin'.
  8. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. [16th century][2]
    • 1605~1608 Shakespeare
      It was a doing.
    • 1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21
      Jacob, when he was a dying
  9. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. [16th century][2]
Usage notes
  • (position, direction): Can also be attached without a hyphen, as aback, ahorse, afoot. See a-
  1. (separation): Can also be attached without hyphen, as asunder. See a-
  2. (status): Can also be attached without hyphen, as afloat, awake. See a-.
  3. (process): Can also be attached with or without hyphen, as a-changing

Etymology 4

From Middle English a, ha contraction of have, or haven.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ə/

Verb

a ‎(third-person singular simple present -, present participle -, simple past and past participle -)

  1. (archaic or slang) Have. [between 1150 and 1350, continued in some use until 1650; used again after 1950]
    I'd a come, if you'd a asked.‎
    • 1604 (facsimile printed between 1830 and 1910), William Shakespeare, Hamlet:
      So would I a done by yonder ſunne
      And thou hadſt not come to my bed.
Derived terms
Usage notes
  • Now often attached to preceding auxiliary verb. See -a.

Etymology 5

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Pronoun

a

  1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He. [1150-1900][2]
    • 1599, Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, III-ii:
      a’ brushes his hat o’ mornings.
    • 1874 Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd (Barnes & Noble Classics reprint [reset], 2005, chapter 5, page 117; from "Hardy's 1912 Wessex edition"):
      "And how Farmer James would cuss, and call thee a fool, wouldn't he, Joseph, when 'a seed his name looking so inside-out-like?" continued Matthew Moon, with feeling. / "Ay — 'a would," said Joseph meekly.

Etymology 6

Variant spelling of ah.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ə/, /ɑː/

Interjection

a

  1. A meaningless syllable; ah.
    • 1623 Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale, IV-iii:
      A merry heart goes all the day
      Your sad tires in a mile-a
    • 1936 Avery, I Love to Singa:
      I love to sing-a
      About the moon-a and the June-a and the Spring-a.

Etymology 7

From Middle English, contraction of of.

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ə/

Preposition

a

  1. (archaic, slang) Of.
    The name of John a Gaunt.‎

Usage notes

  • Often attached without a hyphen to preceding word.

Etymology 8

From Middle English (Northern dialect) aw, alteration of all.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Adverb

a ‎(not comparable)

  1. (chiefly Scotland) All. [First attested from 1350 to 1470.]

Adjective

a ‎(not comparable)

  1. (chiefly Scotland) All. [First attested from 1350 to 1470.]

Etymology 9

Symbols

Symbol

a

  1. Distance from leading edge to aerodynamic center.
  2. specific absorption coefficient
  3. specific rotation
  4. allele (recessive)

See also

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: little · now · then · #79: a · should · can · made

References

  • Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 1
  • Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5)
  • Christine A. Lindberg (editor), The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition (Spark Publishing, 2007 [2002], ISBN 978-1-4114-0500-4), page 1
  1. 1 2 Gove, Philip Babcock, (1976)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Brown, Lesley, (2003)
  3. 1 2 Lindberg, Christine A. (2007)
  4. ↑ YouTube video with lyrics

Abau

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Noun

a

  1. house

Afar

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /ʌ/

Determiner

a

  1. this

Albanian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Albanian *(h)au, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eu- ‎(“that”). Cognate to Ancient Greek αὖ ‎(aû, “on the other hand, again”). A proclitic disjunctive particle, used with one or more parts of the sentence.

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Particle

a

  1. or
  2. there

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *(h)an, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en ‎(“there”). Cognate with Latin an ‎(“yes, perhaps”). Interrogative particle, usually used proclitically in simple sentences.

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Particle

a

  1. probably, perhaps

Ama

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ãː/

Noun

a

  1. tree

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin illa.

Article

a f sg

  1. the
    a luenga aragonesa‎ ― the Aragonese language

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

  1. to, towards

Derived terms

Noun

a f

  1. a (name of the letter A, a)

Azeri

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Bambara

Article

a

  1. the (definite article).

Interjection

a

  1. ah (expression of surprise)
  2. eh (expression of reluctance)

Pronoun

a

  1. they, them (plural)

Bavarian

Article

a

  1. a

Catalan

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Catalan alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Derived terms
  • no saber ni la a
See also

Etymology 2

From Latin ad, from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near; at”).

Pronunciation

  • (Eastern) IPA(key): /ə/
  • (Western) IPA(key): /a/

Preposition

a

  1. in, at; indicating a particular time or place
    Sóc a Barcelona.‎
    I am in Barcelona.
  2. to; indicating movement towards a particular place
    Vaig a Barcelona.‎
    I'm going to Barcelona.
  3. to; indicating a target or indirect object
    Escric una carta a la meva àvia.‎
    I'm writing my grandmother a letter.
  4. per
  5. by
    dia a dia.‎
    day by day.
Usage notes

When the preposition a is followed by a masculine definite article, el or els, it is contracted with it to the forms al and als respectively. If el would be elided to the form l’ because it is before a word beginning with a vowel, the elision to a l’ takes precedence over contracting to al.

The same occurs with the salat article es, to form as except where es would be elided to s’.

Derived terms

Chuukese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑ/

Pronoun

a

  1. he
  2. she
  3. it

Adjective

a

  1. he is
  2. she is
  3. it is

Related terms

Present and past tense Negative tense Future Negative future Distant future Negative determinate
Singular First person ua use upwe usap upwap ute
Second person ka, ke kose, kese kopwe, kepwe kosap, kesap kopwap, kepwap kote, kete
Third person a ese epwe esap epwap ete
Plural First person aua (exclusive)
sia (inclusive) 		ause (exclusive)
sise (inclusive) 		aupwe (exclusive)
sipwe (inclusive) 		ausap (exclusive)
sisap (inclusive) 		aupwap (exclusive)
sipwap (inclusive) 		aute (exclusive)
site (inclusive)
Second person oua ouse oupwe ousap oupwap oute
Third person ra, re rese repwe resap repwap rete

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Conjunction

a

  1. and

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

  1. to
  2. at

Danish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
  • Rhymes: -æː

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
  • Rhymes: -æː

Noun

a n (singular definite a'et, plural indefinite a'er)

  1. The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Inflection

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

  • à (unofficial but common)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/, [ˈaˀ]
  • Rhymes: -a, Rhymes: -æː

Preposition

a

  1. of, of...each, each containing
  2. at
  3. to, or

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
  • Rhymes: -æː

Verb

a

  1. imperative of ae

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /aː/

Etymology 1

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch aa, from Old Dutch ā, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō. Cognate with Old English ēa, Old High German aha (German Ache), Old Norse á (Swedish å).

Alternative forms

  • aa (especially in names)
  • ie

Noun

a f ‎(plural a's, diminutive aatje n)

  1. (archaic) a stream or water
Related terms

Egyptian

Romanization

a

  1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of ˤ.

Esperanto

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /a/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /a/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Esperanto alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

a ‎(accusative singular a-on, plural a-oj, accusative plural a-ojn)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also

Fala

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese á, from Latin illa ‎(“that”).

Article

a f ‎(plural as, masculine o, masculine plural os)

  1. feminine singular of definite article o
    • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
      A grandeda da lengua española é indiscotibli, i sei estudio, utilización defensa debin sel algo consostancial a nos, […]
      The greatness of the Spanish language is unquestionable, and its study, use and defense must be something consubstantial to us, […]

Etymology 2

From Old Portuguese a, from Latin ad ‎(“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near, at”).

Preposition

a

  1. to
    • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
      A grandeda da lengua española é indiscotibli, i sei estudio, utilización defensa debin sel algo consostancial a nos, […]
      The greatness of the Spanish language is unquestionable, and its study, use and defense must be something consubstantial to us, […]

Faroese

Etymology

From Latin a, form of A, from Etruscan 𐌀 ‎(a), from Ancient Greek Α ‎(A, “alpha”), from Phoenician 𐤀 ‎(“aleph”), from Egyptian 𓃾.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛaː/
  • Homophone: æ

Letter

a ‎(upper case A)

  1. First letter of the Faroese alphabet.

See also

Finnish

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /ɑ/

Abbreviation

a

  1. approbatur

French

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Quebec eye-dialect spelling of elle.

Pronunciation

  • (France) IPA(key): /a/
  • (Canada) IPA(key): /a//ɔ/

Pronoun

a

  1. (Quebec, colloquial) Alternative form of elle ‎(“she”)
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Etymology 3

Symbol

a

  1. are (100 square metres)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

  • (France) IPA(key): /a/
  • (Canada) IPA(key): /a/, /ɔ/

Verb

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir
    Elle a un chat.‎
    She has a cat.

See also

Fula

Etymology 1

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. A letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Etymology 2

Pronoun

a

  1. you (second person singular subject pronoun; short form)

Usage notes

  • Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).
  • Used in all conjugations except the affirmative non-accomplished, where the long form is used instead.

See also

  • aɗa (second person singular subject pronoun; long form), hiɗa (variant used in the Pular dialect of Futa Jalon)
  • aan (emphatic form)

Galician

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Latin ad ‎(“to, toward”).

Preposition

a

  1. to, toward; indicating direction of motion
  2. introduces indirect object
  3. used to indicate time of an action
  4. (with de) to, until; used to indicate the end of a range
    de cinco a oito‎ ― from five to eight
  5. by, on, by means of; expresses a mode of action
    a pé‎ ― on foot
  6. for; indicates price or cost
Usage notes

The preposition a regularly forms contractions when it precedes the definite article o, a, os, and as. For example, a o ("to the") contracts to ao or ó, and a a ("to the") contracts to á.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Portuguese a, from Latin illa, feminine of ille ‎(“that”).

Article

a f ‎(masculine singular o, feminine plural as, masculine plural os)

  1. (definite) the
Usage notes

The definite article o (in all its forms) regularly forms contractions when it follows the prepositions a ‎(“to”), con ‎(“with”), de ‎(“of, from”), and en ‎(“in”). For example, con a ‎(“with the”) contracts to coa, and en a ‎(“in the”) contracts to na.

Derived terms

Pronoun

a f accusative (nominative ela, oblique ela, dative lle)

  1. her: feminine singular third-person personal pronoun
Usage notes

The third-person direct object pronouns o, os, a, and as, have variant forms prefixed with l- or n-. These alternative forms appear depending on the ending of the preceding word. The l- forms (e.g. la) are used when the preceding word ends in -r or -s. The n- forms (e.g. na) are used when the preceding word ends in -u or a diphthong. These alternative forms are then suffixed to the preceding word.

In all other situations, the standard forms of the pronouns are used (o, os, a, as) and are not suffixed to the preceding word.

These direct object pronouns also form contractions when they immediately follow an indirect object pronoun. For example, Dou che a ‎(“I gave you it”) contracts to Dou cha.

Derived terms
Related terms
See also
  • Appendix:Galician pronouns
  • se
  • seu

Etymology 3

Noun

a m ‎(plural as)

  1. a (name of the letter A, a)

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/, /ä/
  • Rhymes: -aː

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Gilbertese

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *pat, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *pat, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Numeral

a

  1. (cardinal) four

Grass Koiari

Pronoun

a

  1. you (singular)

References

  • Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Greenlandic

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/, /a:/

Affix

a (after short vowels)

  1. to be
    Maani ukiaavoq.‎ ― It is autumn here.
    Uangaanngilaq.‎ ― It is not me.

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Article

a

  1. the: definite article

Usage notes

This term only follows words that end with an oral (non-nasal) consonant and an oral vowel in that order, and can only modify singular nouns.

See also

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a:/

Conjunction

a

  1. and (used between sentences)
  2. until, up to

Preposition

a

  1. of, belonging to

Usage notes

  • Used for acquired possessions, while o is used for possessions that are inherited, out of personal control, and for things that can be got into (houses, clothes, cars).

Hungarian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈɒ]

Article

a ‎(definite)

  1. the
    a hölgy‎ ― the lady

Usage notes

Used before words starting with a consonant.

Related terms

  • az, for words starting with a vowel

Ido

Alternative forms

  • (before a vowel) ad

Etymology

See ad.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

a ‎(plural a-i)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also

Preposition

a

  1. to

Related terms

  • e, ed ‎(“and”)
  • o, od ‎(“or”)

Indo-Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Sri Lankan Creole) IPA(key): /a/, /ə/

Etymology

From Portuguese a, from Old Portuguese a, from Latin ad ‎(“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *át ‎(“near; at”).

Preposition

a

  1. to
    • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:
      […] , que da-cá su quião que ta pertencê a êll.
      […] , to give him his share which belongs to him.

Interlingua

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Preposition

a

  1. to, at
  2. to, for (indicating purpose)
    sala a attender‎ ― waiting room

Derived terms

Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ə/

Determiner

a (triggers lenition)

  1. his, its
    a athair agus a mháthair‎ ― his father and mother
    Chaill an t-éan a chleití.‎ ― The bird lost its feathers.

See also

Determiner

a (triggers h-prothesis)

  1. her, its
    a hathair agus a máthair‎ ― her father and mother
    Bhris an mheaig a heiteog.‎ ― The magpie broke its wing.

See also

Determiner

a ‎(triggers eclipsis of a following word)

  1. their
    a n-athair agus a máthair‎ ― their father and mother
    a dtithe‎ ― their houses
    a n-ainmneacha‎ ― their names
  2. (Connacht) our
  3. (Connacht) your pl

See also

Determiner

a (triggers lenition)

  1. how (used with an abstract noun)
    A ghéire a labhair sí!‎ ― How sharply she spoke!
    A fheabhas atá sé!‎ ― How good it is!

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

  1. Introduces a vocative
    A Dhia!‎ ― O God!
    A dhuine uasail!‎ ― Sir!
    Tar isteach, a Sheáin.‎ ― Come in, Seán.
    A amadáin!‎ ― You fool!

Particle

a (triggers lenition except of d’ and of past autonomous forms)

  1. Introduces a direct relative clause, takes the independent form of an irregular verb
    an fear a chuireann síol‎ ― the man who sows seed
    an síol a chuireann an fear‎ ― the seed that the man sows
    an síol a cuireadh‎ ― the seed that was sown
    nuair a bhí mé óg‎ ― when I was young
    an cat a d'ól an bainne‎ ― the cat that drank the milk

Particle

a (triggers eclipsis, takes the dependent form of an irregular verb; not used in the past tense except with some irregular verbs)

  1. Introduces an indirect relative clause
    an bord a raibh leabhar air‎ ― the table on which there was a book
    an fear a bhfuil a mhac ag imeacht‎ ― the man whose son is going away

Related terms

  • ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

Particle

a (triggers h-prothesis)

  1. Introduces a numeral
    a haon, a dó, a trí...‎ ― one, two, three...
    Séamas a Dó‎ ― James the Second
    bus a seacht‎ ― the number seven bus

Preposition

a ‎(plus dative, triggers lenition)

  1. to (used with a verbal noun)
    síol a chur‎ ― to sow seed
    uisce a ól‎ ― to drink water
    an rud atá sé a scríobh‎ ― what he is writing
    D’éirigh sé a chaint.‎ ― He rose to speak.
    téigh a chodladh.‎ ― Go to sleep.

Pronoun

a (triggers eclipsis, takes the dependent form of an irregular verb; not used in the past tense except with some irregular verbs)

  1. all that, whatever
    Sin a bhfuil ann.‎ ― That's all that is there.
    An bhfuair tú a raibh uait?‎ ― Did you get all that you wanted?
    Íocfaidh mé as a gceannóidh tú.‎ ― I will pay for whatever you buy.

Related terms

  • ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

References

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

  1. at
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:
      A poûpa, a prùa a xì doûto bandere,
      At the stern, at the bow everything is flags,

Particle

a

  1. emphasises a verb; mandatory with impersonal verbs
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:
      A poûpa, a prùa a xì doûto bandere,
      At the stern, at the bow everything is flags,

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Latin ad, from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near; at”). In a few phrases, a stems from Latin a, ab.[1]

Preposition

a

  1. in
  2. at
  3. to
  4. Indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis
    A me non importa.‎ ― It doesn’t matter to me.
    A lei non piace, ma a lui piace molto.‎ ― She doesn't like it, but he likes it very much.
Usage notes
  • When followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound, the form ad is used instead.
  • When followed by the definite article, a combines with the article to produce the following combined forms:
a + article Combined form
a + il al
a + lo allo
a + l' all'
a + i ai
a + gli agli
a + la alla
a + le alle

Etymology 2

Noun

a f, m ‎(invariable)

  1. a (name of the letter A, a)

Etymology 3

Verb

a

  1. Misspelling of ha.

References

  1. ↑ Angelo Prati, "Vocabolario Etimologico Italiano", Torino, 1951

Japanese

Romanization

a

  1. rōmaji reading of あ
  2. rōmaji reading of ア

Kalasha

Pronoun

a

  1. I

Koitabu

Pronoun

a

  1. you (singular)

References

  • Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Krisa

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Noun

a m

  1. pig

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin a.

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /a/

Preposition

a

  1. in
  2. at
  3. to

Latgalian

Etymology

Shortened from an older Baltic form *ā, which cognates with Lithuanian o (the same meaning).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Conjunction

a f

  1. but, however, while, signal

Particle

a f

  1. and, but, so, well

Latin

Etymology 1

From the Ancient Greek "Α", likely through Etruscan.

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA(key): /a:/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. (sometimes with littera) the first letter of the Latin alphabet.
    littera a‎ ― the letter a
Usage notes

See Appendix:Mutations of the letter and sound a in the Latin language

Etymology 2

From Etruscan.

Pronunciation

Noun

ā ‎(indeclinable)

  1. The name of the letter A.
Coordinate terms

References

  • Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), part III: “Summary of the Ancient Evidence”, page 32
    Clearly there is no question or doubt about the names of the vowels A, E, I, O, U. They are simply long A, long E, etc. (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). Nor is there any uncertainty with respect to the six mutes B, C, D, G, P, T. Their names are bē, cē, dē, gē, pē, tē (each with a long E). Or about H, K, and Q: they are hā, kā, kū — each, again, with a long vowel sound.

Etymology 3

Shortened form of ab.

Pronunciation

Preposition

ā ‎(+ ablative)

  1. of, from
Alternative forms
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Interjection

ā!

  1. ah

Latvian

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [a]

Letter

A

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Latvian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [a]

Noun

a m (invariable)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also

Livonian

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a ‎(upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [a]

Conjunction

a

  1. and

Malay

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA(key): /a/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Mandarin

Romanization

a (Zhuyin ㄚ˙)

  1. Pinyin transcription of 呵
  2. Pinyin transcription of 啊
  3. Pinyin transcription of 阿

a

  1. Nonstandard spelling of ā.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of á.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of ǎ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of à.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Mandinka

Pronoun

a

  1. he, him (personal pronoun)
    A m busa‎ ― He/she struck me.
    Y a busa‎ ― They struck him/her.
  2. she, her (personal pronoun)
  3. it (personal pronoun)

See also

Maori

Particle

a

  1. of
  2. (determinative particle for names)
  3. (particle for pronouns when succeeding ki, i, kei, and hei)

Usage notes

  • When used in the sense of of, suggests that the possessor has control of the relationship (alienable possession).

Middle French

Etymology 1

Old French, from Latin ad.

Alternative forms

  • à (after 1550)

Preposition

a

  1. to; towards

Etymology 2

Old French, from Latin habet.

Verb

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Middle Welsh

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Particle

a ‎(triggers lenition)

  1. O (vocative particle)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Pronoun

a ‎(triggers lenition)

  1. who, which, that

Particle

a ‎(triggers lenition)

  1. inserted before the verb when the subject of direct object precedes it

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Particle

a ‎(triggers lenition)

  1. used to introduce a direct question
  2. whether (used to introduce an indirect question)

Etymology 4

Reduction of o ‎(“from”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Preposition

a

  1. used between a focused adjective and the noun it modifies
    • Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet:
      bychan a dial oed yn lloski ni, neu yn dienydyaw am y mab
      it will be small vengeance if we are burnt or put to death because of the child

Etymology 5

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Conjunction

a ‎(triggers aspiration)

  1. and

Etymology 6

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Preposition

a ‎(triggers aspiration)

  1. with

Etymology 7

From Proto-Celtic *ageti, third-person singular present indicative of *ago-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aː/

Alternative forms

Verb

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of mynet

Mopan Maya

Article

a

  1. the

References

  • Hofling, Charles Andrew (2011). Mopan Maya–Spanish–English Dictionary, University of Utah Press.

Mountain Koiari

Pronoun

a

  1. you (singular)

References

  • Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Nauruan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑ/

Pronoun

a

  1. I (first person singular pronoun)
    • 2000, Lisa M Johnson, Firstness of Secondness in Nauruan Morphology:
      a pudun
      1sing fall+Vn
      I fell
      […]
      a nuwawen
      1pers.sing. go+Vn
      I did go. (I left.)
      […]
      a kaiotien aem
      [1pers.sing.] [hear+Vn] [your words]
      I hear what you said.
      […]
      a nan imoren
      1pers.sing. FUT health+Vn
      I shall be cured (get better).

Navajo

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Navajo alphabet, written in the Latin script.
    a = /a˨/
    ą = /ã˨/
    á = /a˥/
    ą́ = /ã˥/
    aa = /aː˨˨/
    ąą = /ãː˨˨/
    áa = /aː˥˨/
    ą́ą = /ãː˥˨/
    aá = /aː˨˥/
    ąą́ = /ãː˨˥/
    áá = /aː˥˥/
    ą́ą́ = /ãː˥˥/

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Latin de ab.

Preposition

a

  1. from (referring to a place)
  2. by (introducing the actor in the passive voice)
  3. to (implying necessity)

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

  1. in (locative: staying in a place of relative width)
  2. to (locative: moving towards a place of relative width)
  3. to (dative)

Norman

Verb

a

  1. (Guernsey) third-person singular present indicative of aver

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɑː/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /ɑː/, /a/

Letter

a ‎(lowercase, uppercase A)

  1. The first letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

a m ‎(definite singular a-en, indefinite plural a-er, definite plural a-ene)

  1. the letter a

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/ (example of pronunciation)

Letter

a ‎(lowercase, uppercase A)

  1. The first letter of the Norwegian Nynorsk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Noun

a m ‎(definite singular a-en, indefinite plural a-ar, definite plural a-ane)

  1. the letter a

Novial

Preposition

a

  1. to

Usage notes

When followed by the definite article li, a may optionally be combined with the article to give al.

Old Danish

Alternative forms

  • aa (Jutlandic)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

Noun

ā (genitive ār, plural ār)

  1. (Scanian) stream, river
Descendants
  • Danish: å

Etymology 2

From Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

Preposition

ā

  1. (Scanian) on, in, at
Descendants

Etymology 3

Verb

ā

  1. first-person singular present indicative of ēgha
  2. third-person singular present indicative of ēgha

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *aiw-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- ‎(“vitality”). Cognate with Old Saxon eo, Old High German io, eo (German je), Old Norse ei, ey (English aye), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 ‎(aiws, “age, eternity”).

Adverb

ā

  1. ever, always

Descendants

Old French

Etymology 1

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Old French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

Alternative forms

  • ad
  • à (not in manuscripts; occasionally used by scholars to differentiate between the preposition and the verb form)

Preposition

a

  1. to
  2. towards
  3. belonging to
    fil a putain‎ ― son of a whore
Derived terms
Descendants
  • French: à

Etymology 3

From the verb avoir, aveir.

Alternative forms

Verb

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Old Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *sindom ‎(“this”).

Alternative forms

  • (relative pronoun): an

Article

a

  1. nominative / accusative singular neuter of in
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 15b28
      A mbás tiagme-ni do·áirci bethid dúib-si.
      The death to which we go causes life unto you.

Pronoun

a (triggers eclipsis, takes a leniting relative clause)

  1. that which, what
    • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 112b13
      Is demniu liunn a n-ad·chiam hua sulib ol·daas an ro·chluinemmar hua chluasaib.
      What we see with the eyes is more certain for us than what we hear with the ears.
Descendants
  • Irish: a

Etymology 2

Conjunction

a (triggers eclipsis, takes a nasalizing relative clause)

  1. when
    • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 55d11
      Ícaid-som didiu anisin, a n-as·mbeir “iudicia Domini abyssus multa”.
      He solves that then, when he says “iudicia Domini abyssus multa”.
    • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 112b17
      ⁊ a no·nda imbide
      and when thou art hedged round

Etymology 3

From Proto-Celtic *esyo (m and n), *esyās (f), and *esōm (pl); compare Welsh ei ‎(“his, her, its”), eu ‎(“their”); Old High German iro ‎(“their”); and Sanskrit अस्य ‎(asyá, “his, its”), अस्यास् ‎(asyā́s, “her”), and एषाम् ‎(eṣā́m, “their”).

Alternative forms

Determiner

a ‎(3rd person possessive) (triggers lenition in the masculine and neuter singular, an unwritten prothetic /h/ before a vowel in the feminine singular, and eclipsis in the plural)

  1. his, its
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 5a23
      Cossóit a thuaithe fri Dia inso.
      This is a slandering of his folk before God.
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 5d10
      Bad hi forcitul .i. a chomalnad condib desimrecht do chách.
      Let it be in teaching, that is, to fulfill it [lit. "its fulfillment"] so that he may be an example to everyone.
  2. her, its
    • c. 845, St. Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 32b6
      A mmuntar-sidi ad·rothreb-si lee, it he con·rótgatar in cathraig.
      Her folk whom she had with her, it is they who built the city.
  3. their
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 24a38
      Ní epur a n-anman sund.
      I do not say their names here.
Descendants
  • Irish: a ‎(“his, her, its, their”)
  • Scottish Gaelic: a ‎(“his, her, its”); an ‎(“their”)

Etymology 4

From Proto-Celtic *ō (compare Welsh a, from Proto-Indo-European *ō (compare Ancient Greek ὦ ‎(ô), Latin ō).

Alternative forms

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

  1. O (vocative particle)
    • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 134d3
      Ar·troídfe-siu inna drochdaíni, a Dǽ, dia n-anduch, air is fechtnach a n-andach mani erthroítar húa Día.
      Thou wilt restrain the evil men, O God, from their iniquity, for their iniquity is prosperous if it be not restrained by God.
Descendants
  • Irish: a

Etymology 5

Particle

a (triggers an unwritten prothetic /h/ before a vowel)

  1. introduces a numeral
    a deich‎ ― ten
Descendants
  • Irish: a

Etymology 6

From Proto-Celtic *exs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs.

Preposition

a ‎(combined with plural article asnaib, combined with 1st singular possessive determiner asmo, combined with 3rd person possessive determiner assa)

  1. out of
    • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 127d6
      in tan ro·mmemaid re n-Abrachan forsna coíc riga bertar Loth a Sodaim
      when the five kings who carried Lot out of Sodom had been routed by Abraham
Inflection
Related terms
Descendants
  • Irish: as
  • Manx: ass
  • Scottish Gaelic: à

References

Old Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Latin ad ‎(“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near; at”).

Preposition

a

  1. to; towards
Descendants
  • Fala: a
  • Galician: a
  • Portuguese: a

Etymology 2

Article

a

  1. Alternative spelling of á

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Conjunction

a

  1. and; but
    A ty?‎ ― And you?
    Wolisz tabletki, a ja wolę zastrzyki.‎ ― You prefer pills and I prefer injections.
  2. and
    walka między dobrem a złem‎ ― battle between good and evil

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Letter

  • IPA(key): /ˈa/
  • Hyphenation: a

Article, pronoun

Etymology 1

From Portuguese a, form of A, from Etruscan 𐌀 ‎(a), from Ancient Greek Α ‎(A, “alpha”), from Phoenician 𐤀 ‎(“aleph”), from Egyptian 𓃾.

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Noun

a m (plural as)

  1. Alternative spelling of á
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Old Portuguese a, from Latin illa (with the disappearance of an initial l; compare Spanish la).

Article

a f

  1. Feminine singular of article o.
    • 2005, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Rocco, page 219:
      Então, como foi a última festinha de Slughorn?
      So, how was the last Slughorn's little party?
    • 2007, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Rocco, page 147:
      Entregou a foto rasgada, [...]
      He handed over the torn photograph, [...]
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:o.

See also

Portuguese articles (edit)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Definite articles
(the)		 o a os as
Indefinite articles
(a, an; some)		 um uma uns umas

Pronoun

a f ‎(third-person singular)

  1. Her, it (as a direct object; as an indirect object, see lhe; after prepositions, see ela).
    Encontrei-a na rua.‎ ― I met her/it on the street.
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Usage notes
  • Becomes -la after verb forms ending in -r, -s, or -z, the pronouns nos ‎(“us”) and vos ‎(“plural you”), and the adverb eis ‎(“here is; behold”); the final letter causing the change disappears.
    After ver ‎(“to see”): Posso vê-la? — “May I see her/it?”
    After pôs ‎(“he/she/it put”): Ele pô-la ali. — “He put her/it there.”
    After fiz ‎(“I made; I did”): Fi-la ficar contente. — “I made her/it become happy.”
    After nos ‎(“us”): Ela deu-no-la relutantemente. — “She gave her/it to us reluctantly.”
    After eis ‎(“here is; behold”): Ei-la! — “Behold her/it!”
  • Becomes -na after a nasal vowel or diphthong: -ão, -am [ɐ̃w̃], -õe [õj̃], -em, -êm [ẽj̃].
    Detêm-na como prisioneira. — “They detain her/it as a prisoner.”
  • In informal Brazilian Portuguese, the nominative form ela ‎(“she”) is more commonly used.
    Eu a vi. → Eu vi ela.: “I saw her/it.”
See also
Portuguese personal pronouns (edit)
Number Person Nominative
(subject)		 Accusative
(direct object)		 Dative
(indirect object)		 Oblique Oblique
with com 		Non-declining
m f m f m and f m f m f m f
Singular First eu me mim comigo
Second tu te ti contigo você
o senhor a senhora
Third ele ela o
(lo, no)		 a
(la, na)		 lhe ele ela com ele com ela o mesmo a mesma
se (reflexive) si (reflexive) consigo (reflexive)
Plural First nós nos nós connosco (Portugal)
conosco (Brazil) 		a gente
Second vós vos vós convosco vocês
os senhores as senhoras
Third eles elas os
(los, nos)		 as
(las, nas)		 lhes eles elas com eles com elas os mesmos as mesmas
se (reflexive) si (reflexive) consigo (reflexive)
Indefinite se (reflexive) si (reflexive) consigo (reflexive)

Etymology 3

From Old Portuguese a, from Latin ad ‎(“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near, at”).

Preposition

a

  1. to (introduces the indirect object)
    • 2005, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Rocco, page 143:
      Deixe-me mostrar a você...
      Let me show it to you...
    • 2007, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Rocco, page 516:
      Não é bonito dizer isso a uma pessoa.
      It's not nice to say that to a person.
    Dê-o a mim.‎ ― Give it to me.
    Meu coração pertence a você.‎ ― My heart belongs to you.
  2. to; towards (indicates destination)
    Vamos a Paris!‎ ― Let’s go to Paris!
  3. away (indicates a physical distance)
    A vila fica a onze milhas‎ ― The village is eleven miles away.
    Comunicação à distância.‎ ― Communication at a distance.
  4. with; by means of (using as an instrument or means)
    Mataram o cão a pauladas.‎ ― They bludgeoned the dog to death. (literally: they killed the dog with bludgeonings)
    A cavalo.‎ ― On horseback.
    Livro escrito a lápis.‎ ― A book written with a pencil.
  5. with; on (using as a medium or fuel)
    Quadro pintado a óleo.‎ ― A painting painted with oil.
    Fornalha a carvão.‎ ― Coal furnace.
  6. by (using the specified measurement; in the specified quantity)
    É mais barato comprar comida ao quilo.‎ ― It is cheaper to by food by the kilogram.
    Os fracassos ocorrem às dezenas.‎ ― Failures occur by the dozen.
  7. (preceded and followed by the same word) by (indicates a steady progression)
    Calma lá. Resolva o problema passo a passo.‎ ― Easy there. Solve the problem step by step.
  8. in the style or manner of; a la
    Ele puxou o temperamento ao pai.‎ ― He inherited his temperament from his father.
    Camarão à grega.‎ ― Greek-style shrimp.
  9. (limited use, see usage notes) at (during the specified period)
    Dormimos à noite.‎ ― We sleep at night.
    O filme começa às duas horas.‎ ― The film starts at two o’clock.
  10. (rare except in set terms) at; in (indicates a location or position)
    Isso fica à frente do altar.‎ ― This stays in front of the altar.
  11. indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis
    A mim ele não engana.‎ ― He doesn’t deceive me.
  12. (Portugal, followed by a verb in the infinitive form) forms the present participle; in Brazil, the gerund is used instead
    Estou a preparar a canja‎ ― I am preparing the chicken soup
  13. (followed by an infinitive or present passive) to (forms the future participle)
    Um trabalho a ser feito.‎ ― A job to be done.
    Nada a fazer.‎ ― Nothing to be done.
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Usage notes

When followed by a definite article, a is combined with the article to give the following combined forms:

In the sense of to ‎(“introducing the indirect object”), usage with a personal pronoun can be replaced with an indirect pronoun (me, nos, te, vos, lhe, lhes):

  • Deram um livro a ele. → Deram-lhe um livro.

In the sense of at ‎(“during the specified period”), it can be used with:

Dia ‎(“day”), manhã ‎(“morning”), madrugada ‎(“early morning”) use de ‎(“of”) instead, which can optionally be used for tarde, noitinha and noite as well. Names of months, days of the month and of the week use em ‎(“in”).

Synonyms
  • (introducing an indirect object): para
  • (indicating a destination): para, até
  • (by means of): com, por meio de
  • (indicating a steady progression): por
  • (a la): ao modo de
  • (in the specified time period): em, de
  • (indicating location): em
  • (forming the future participle): para, por
See also

Etymology 4

Interjection

a

  1. oh (expression of mild surprise)
    A, tudo bem então.‎
    Oh, all right then.
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Etymology 5

From homophone há

Verb

a

  1. Misspelling of há.
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Etymology 6

From homophone à

Contraction

a

  1. Misspelling of à.
Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:a.

Rapa Nui

Particle

a

  1. possessive particle marking an alienable possession; of

Usage notes

Inserted before the relevant pronoun. Only for possessions like houses or beliefs that have the ability to no longer be yours; otherwise, use ,.

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Romanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

In Romanian, the letter a represents the phoneme /a/.

See also

Etymology 1

Article

a ‎(feminine singular possessive article)

  1. of
    sora mea și a lui Alexandru‎
    My and Alexandru's sister
    cartea este a mea‎
    the book is mine
Coordinate terms
  • al (masculine/neuter singular)
  • ai (masculine plural)
  • ale (feminine/neuter plural)

Etymology 2

From Latin ad, from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near; at”).

Preposition

a

  1. (used with infinitive verbs) the infinitive marker: to
    A fi.‎
    To be.
  2. (archaic) at (now almost completely replaced by la)

Etymology 3

Verb

(el/ea) a ‎(modal auxiliary, third-person singular form of avea, used with past participles to form perfect compus tenses)

  1. modal auxiliary
    A văzut acest film?‎
    Has he/she seen this film?
Usage notes

a is used instead of are to form the third-person singular perfect compus.

Scots

Determiner

a

  1. Alternative form of a'

Adverb

a ‎(not comparable)

  1. Alternative form of a'

Noun

a ‎(uncountable)

  1. Alternative form of a'

Scottish Gaelic

Pronoun

a

  1. his
  2. her
  3. its
  4. who, which, that

Usage notes

  • As his/its lenites the following word.
    a mhac - his son
    a mac - her son
  • As his/its is omitted if the following word begins with a vowel or fh followed by a vowel.
    athair - a father or his father (depending on the context)

Preposition

a

  1. Alternative form of do

Particle

a

  1. to (precedes the infinitive form)
    Tha mi a' dol a chadal.‎ ― I'm going to sleep.
  2. Used before cardinal numbers which are not followed by a noun.
    A bheil agad a ceithir?‎ ― Do you have four?
  3. Used before the vocative form.
    Hallo, a Ruairidh.‎ ― Hello, Roderick.

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/

Etymology 1

See Translingual section.

Alternative forms

  • (uppercase): A

Letter

a ‎(Cyrillic spelling а)

  1. The 1st letter of the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet (gajica), followed by b.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *a ‎(“and, but”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō.

Conjunction

a ‎(Cyrillic spelling а)

  1. but, and (compare ȁli)
    učio sam c(ij)elo posl(ij)epodne, a ništa nisam naučio‎ ― I studied for the whole afternoon, but I didn't learn anything
    a kako biste vi to napravili?‎ ― and how would you do that?
  2. while (on the contrary), whereas
    stolovi su crveni, a stolice su zelene‎ ― the tables are red, whereas the chairs are green
  3. (with da ne) without (usually after negative verbs)
    ne mogu se uključiti u raspravu, a da ne napravim nered‎ ― I cannot enter a discussion without making a mess
    odlazi, a da nije rekao ni zbogom‎ ― he's leaving without even saying goodbye
  4. (a ȉpāk) and yet
    pravi prijatelj zna sve o tebi, a ipak te voli‎ ― the real friend knows everything about you, and yet he loves you
  5. (a kȁmoli) not to mention, let alone
    u moru loših v(ij)esti teško je ostati objektivan, a kamoli optimističan‎ ― in the sea of bad news it's hard to stay objective, let alone optimistic
  6. (a + i + da) even if
    a i da jesam to napravio, ne bi to učinilo neku razliku‎ ― even if I did it, it wouldn't have made much of a difference
  7. (a + i) and so, and also, and too
    sviđaju mi se plavuše, a i ja se pokojoj svidim‎ ― I like blondes, and some of them even like me
    bili su žalosni, a i ja sam‎ ― they were sad, and so am I

Etymology 3

Attested since the 15th century. Probably of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Slovene a, Russian а ‎(a), Lithuanian õ, Latin ō and Ancient Greek ὦ ‎(ô). These could all derive from Proto-Indo-European interjection ō ‎(“oh, ah”), but each form in individual languages could easily be an independent, expressive formation.

Interjection

a ‎(Cyrillic spelling а)

  1. oh, ah
    a da?‎ ― oh really?

References

  • “a” in Hrvatski jezični portal
  • “a” in Hrvatski jezični portal
  • Skok, Petar (1971) Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika (in Serbo-Croatian), volume 1, Zagreb: JAZU, page 1

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a ‎(upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Slovak

Etymology 1

From Latin a, form of A, from Etruscan 𐌀 ‎(a), from Ancient Greek Α ‎(A, “alpha”), from Phoenician 𐤀 ‎(“aleph”), from Egyptian 𓃾.

Letter

a ‎(upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Slovak alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *a ‎(“and, but”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ōd. Cognates include Old Church Slavonic а ‎(a), Lithuanian õ ‎(“and, but”) and Sanskrit आत् ‎(ā́t, “so, then, afterwards”).

Conjunction

a

  1. and
Derived terms
  • a čo
  • a jednako
  • a predsa
  • a preto
  • a tak
  • a teda

Slovene

Etymology 1

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also

Interjection

a

  1. oh
Synonyms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/
  • Tonal orthography: a

Conjunction

a

  1. but

Particle

a

  1. contracted form of ali, particle used to form a yes- no question.

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a/
  • Homophone: ha
  • Rhymes: -a

Etymology 1

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Spanish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a f ‎(plural aes)

  1. Name of the letter A.
See also

Etymology 2

From Latin ad ‎(“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near; at”).

Alternative forms

  • (obsolete) á
  • (obsolete) à

Preposition

a

  1. to
    • 1605, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote de la Mancha1, Chapter I:
      Tenía en su casa una ama que pasaba de los cuarenta y una sobrina que no llegaba a los veinte, y un mozo de campo y plaza que así ensillaba el rocín como tomaba la podadera.
      He had in his house a housekeeper past forty, a niece under twenty, and a lad for the field and market-place, who used to saddle the hack as well as handle the billhook.
  2. by
  3. at
  4. Used before words referring to people, pets, or personified objects or places that function as direct objects: personal a.
    Lo busca a Usted.‎
    He is looking for you.
Usage notes
  • Personal a is not translated into English.

See also

Sranan Tongo

Noun

a

  1. it

Swahili

Particle

-a

  1. The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of

Usage notes

  1. This particle agrees in class with the noun preceding it;
  2. When used as an adjectival particle, the particle itself is untranslated:
  1. When used as a genitive particle, the particle is sometimes untranslated:

Inflection

Swedish

Preposition

a

  1. from (very formal, seldom used outside written formal texts.)
Usage notes

See also

Letter

a ‎(name a, uppercase form A)

  1. The first letter of the Swedish alphabet.

Tagalog

Interjection

a

  1. ah: an exclamation of pity, admiration or surprise
    A! Kailan namatay ang iyong ina?‎ ― Ah! When did your mother die?

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Tagalog alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tarantino

Preposition

a

  1. in
  2. at
  3. to

Tok Pisin

Etymology

Imitative or onomatopoeia.

Interjection

a

  1. eh?
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:1 (translation here):
      God, Bikpela i bin wokim olgeta animal, tasol i no gat wanpela bilong ol inap winim snek long tok gris. Na snek i askim meri olsem, “Ating God i tambuim yutupela long kaikai pikinini bilong olgeta diwai bilong gaden, a?”
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Turkish

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a ‎(lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Turkish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
See also

Noun

a

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also

Turkmen

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /a/, /aː/

Letter

a ‎(upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Turkmen alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Upper Sorbian

Conjunction

a

  1. and
  2. the (establishing a parallel between two comparatives)
    starši a mudriši‎ ― the older, the smarter
    dlěje a hórje‎ ― the longer, the worse

Vietnamese

Etymology

Borrowing from French a or Portuguese á

Pronunciation

Letter

a ‎(upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.

See also

Walloon

Etymology

From Latin ad, from Proto-Indo-European *ád ‎(“near, at”).

Preposition

a

  1. at

Welsh

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɑː/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /a/, /ɑː/

Letter

a ‎(name â, uppercase form A)

  1. The first letter of the Welsh alphabet.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɑː]

Verb

a

  1. (colloquial) first-person singular future of mynd
Synonyms
  • af (literary)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [a]

Conjunction

a ‎(triggers Aspirate Mutation (but not always in the colloquial language))

  1. and
Synonyms
  • ac (used before a vowel)

Yoruba

Pronoun

a

  1. First-person plural subject pronoun: we
    A lo.‎
    We went.

Zazaki

Pronoun

a

  1. she

Zhuang

Noun

a

  1. crow

Etymology

From Middle English and Old English upper case letter A and split of Middle English and Old English upper case letter Æ.

  • Old English upper case letter A from 7th century replacement by Latin upper case letter A of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚪ ‎(a, “āc”), derived from Runic letter ᚫ ‎(a, “Ansuz”).
  • Old English upper case letter Æ from 7th century replacement by Latin upper case ligature Æ of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚫ ‎(æ, “æsc”), also derived from Runic letter ᚫ ‎(a, “Ansuz”).

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