Contents

Translingual

See also the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica's article on: A.

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

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

Symbol

a

  1. Used in the International Phonetic Alphabet and in several romanization systems of non-Latin scripts to represent an open central unrounded vowel (IPA: /a/)

See also

External links

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of atto-, from Danish and Norwegian 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.

Other representations of A:

Letter styles

Capital and lowercase versions of A, in normal and italic type

Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur

Approximate form of Greek upper case Α (a, “alpha”) that was the source for both common variants of aA in uncial script

English

Most common English words: little « now « then « #79: a » should » can » made

Etymology 1

From Middle English and Old English lower case letter a and split of Middle English and Old English lower case letter æ.

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

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iv:
      when strong passion, or weake fleshlinesse / Would from the right way seeke to draw him wide, / He would through temperance and stedfastnesse, / Teach him the weake to strengthen [...].
    • Aldrichimica Acta Volume 30 No 4 (pdf) from Sigma-Aldrich
      This is illustrated using the methoxynaphthalenefunctionalized epoxycyclobutane 160, which is reacted with functionalized norbornenes 93,56, and 148 to produce polyalicyclic structures 161-163, respectively, as examples of space-separated bichromophoric systems.
Usage notes

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

a is the third-most common letter in English.

Derived terms
See also

Cardinal number

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. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.
  2. (often capitalized) The best grade; superiority.
    The burgers here are grade a number 1.
See also
Translations
name of the letter A, a
  • Arabic: إي ar(ar) ('ey) m. (English), آ ar(ar) ('aa) m. (Latin, etc.)
  • Catalan: a ca(ca) f.
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: (English letter names are called as in English, no other standard Mandarin name exists)
  • Esperanto: a eo(eo)
  • Hindi: ए hi(hi) (ē)
  • Japanese: エー ja(ja) (ē)
  • Korean: 에이 ko(ko) (ei)
  • Macedonian: а mk(mk) (a)
  • Polish: a pl(pl)
  • Portuguese: á pt(pt) m.
  • Russian: эй ru(ru) (ej) n. (English), а ru(ru) (a) n.
  • Thai: เอ th(th) (ay)

Etymology 2

Old English ān.

Pronunciation

Article

a (indefinite)

  1. Apocopic form of an. One; any indefinite example of.
    • 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 […]
    There was a man here looking for you yesterday.
    I've seen it happen a hundred times.
  2. One certain or particular.
    We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.
Usage notes
Main appendix: English articles#Indefinite articles
Quotations
Translations
an — see an

Etymology 3

Unstressed form of on.

Pronunciation

Preposition

a

  1. (archaic) In, on, at, by.
    A God’s name.
    Torn a pieces.
    Stand a tiptoe.
    • Shakespeare, Hamlet, IV-v: A Sundays
    • Chaucer: Wit that men have now a days.
  2. (archaic) In the process of; in the act of; into; to. (Used with verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant.)
    • King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21: Jacob, when he was a dying
    • Shakespeare: It was a doing.
    • Bob Dylan: The times, they are a changin'.
  3. (archaic) Of.
    The name of John a Gaunt.
    • Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV, I-ii: What time a day is it?
    • Ben Jonson: It’s six a clock.
  4. To, each, per.
    I brush my teeth twice a day.
    The servants are given a bonus of six shillings a man.

Etymology 4

Unstressed variant of have or of.

Pronunciation

Verb

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

  1. (archaic or slang) Have. (Now often attached to preceding auxiliary verb.)
    I shoulda stayed at home last night.
Derived terms
Derived terms

Etymology 5

Unstressed variant of ha (“he”), heo (“she”), etc.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

a

  1. He; she; it; they.
    • (obsolete) Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, III-ii:
      a’ brushes his hat o’ mornings.
    • (UK, Scottish, dialectical) 1874 Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, Barnes & Noble Classics reprint [reset], 2005, ch 5 p 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

Interjection

a

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

Etymology 7

Abbreviations.

Pronunciation

Abbreviation">

Abbreviation

a

  1. (on bills, etc.) accepted
  2. ante; before
  3. (linguistics) active
  4. adjective
  5. An are, a unit of area of which 100 comprise a hectare.

See also

For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.

External links

Afar

Determiner

a

  1. this

Ainu

This page uses the wrong script or alphabet for the given language. If it is not moved to the right script, or the language corrected in the next month, it will be deleted.

Pronoun

a- (verb prefix, kana ア-)

  1. I, we, someone, my

Anglo-Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

  1. to, towards

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin illa.

Article

a f. sg.

  1. the
    A luenga aragonesa — “The Aragonese language”

Asturian

Preposition

a

  1. to, towards

Derived terms

Catalan

Etymology 1

Noun

a f. (plural as)

  1. The Latin letter A (lowercase a).
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Preposition

a

  1. in, at; indicating a particular time or place
  2. per

Usage notes

When the preposition a is followed by a masculine definite article, el (sg.) or els (pl.), it is contracted with it to the forms al (sg.) or als (pl.) 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 salty article es inv., to form as except where es would be elided to s’

Derived terms

Czech

Most common Czech words: být « #2: a » se » v » na

Pronunciation

Conjunction

a

  1. and

Danish

Alternative forms

Preposition

a

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

Verb

a

  1. Imperative of ae

Dutch

Pronunciation

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Dutch alphabet.

Usage notes

In certain Dutch dialects the IPA: /a/ is pronounced more as IPA: /ɔ/, making words like twaalf rhyme with wolf. In written form, twaalf would be twoalf.

See also

Egyptian

Pronunciation

Noun

D36:Z1 a

  1. arm

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

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

See also

Noun

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

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

See also

Filipino

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

  1. the first letter of the Filipino alphabet

French

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.
    • 1837 Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manchefr.Wikisource, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Chapter II:
      Pourtant, ce qui l’inquiétait le plus, c’était de ne pas se voir armé chevalier ; car il lui semblait qu’il ne pouvait légitimement s’engager dans aucune aventure sans avoir reçu l’ordre de chevalerie.
      However, what worried him the most was not having been dubbed a knight; for it seemed to him that he could not legitimately engage in any adventure without having received the order of knighthood.

Pronoun

a (plural elles)

  1. (Quebec, informal) Alternative form of elle.

Symbol

a

  1. are (100 square metres)

Verb

a

  1. Third-person singular indicative present of avoir

See also

Galician

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 Latin illa, feminine of ille (“that”).

Article

a f. sg. (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
  • cha
  • llela
  • lla
Related terms
See also

Haitian Creole

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

Hungarian

Article

a (definite)

  1. the
    a hölgy - the lady

Usage notes

Used before words starting with a consonant.

Related terms

Ido

Alternative forms

Preposition

a

  1. to

Interlingua

Preposition

a

  1. to, at

Derived terms

Irish

Pronunciation

Particle

a

  1. Vocative (triggers lenition)
    A Dhia! — "O God!"
    A dhuine uasail — "Sir"
    Tar isteach, a Sheáin — "Come in, Seán"
    A amadáin! — "You fool!"
  2. Numeral (attaches h to a vowel)
    A haon, a dó, a trí... — "One, two, three..."
    Séamas a Dó — "James the Second"
    Bus a seacht — "The number seven bus"
  3. Direct relative (triggers lenition)
    An fear a chuireann síol — "The man who sows seed"
    An síol a chuireann an fear — "The seed that the man sows"
    Nuair a éirím — "When I rise"
  4. Indirect relative (triggers eclipsis)
    An bord a bhfuil leabhar air — "The table on which there is a book"
    An fear a bhfuil a mac ag imeacht — "The man whose son is going away"
  5. how, used with an abstract noun (triggers lenition)
    A ghéire a labhair sí — "How sharply she spoke"
    A fheabhas atá sé — "How good it is"

Preposition

a

  1. to, used with a verbal noun (triggers lenition)
    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

  1. his, its (triggers lenition)
    A athair agus a mháthair — "His father and mother"
    Chaill an t-éan a chleití — "The bird lost its feathers"
  2. her, its (attaches h to a vowel)
    A hathair agus a máthair — "Her father and mother"
    Bhris an mheaig a heiteog — "The magpie broke its wing"
  3. their (triggers eclipsis)
    a dtithe — "their houses"
    a n-ainmneacha — "their names"
  4. 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"

Italian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Latin ad. 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.” (literally, "To me it doesn’t matter.")
    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 definite article, a is combined with the article to give the following combined forms:

Etymology 2

Verb

a

  1. Common misspelling of ha.

References

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

Japanese

Noun

a (hiragana あ)

  1. あ: hiragana letter a
  2. ア: katakana letter a

Krisa

Noun

a m.

  1. pig

Latin

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

A user suggests that this entry should be cleaned up, giving the reason: “Information about mutations of the letter and sound a belongs in an appendix, if anywhere.”.
Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup(+) or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.
Mutations of the letter and sound a in the Latin language

The sound of the A is short or long in every part of the word; as, ăb, păter, ită; â, mâter, frustrâ. During a short period (between about 620 and 670 A.U.C. = from 134 to 84 B.C.) long a was written aa, probably first by the poet Lucius Attius, in the manner of the Oscan language; so we find in Latin inscriptions: AA. CETEREIS (i.e., a ceteris), CALAASI, FAATO, HAACE, MAARCIVM, PAAPVS, PAASTORES, VAARVS; and in Greek writing, ΜAAPKOY YIOΣ MAAPKEΛΛOΣ, KOINTON MAAPKION (like Oscan aasas = Latin âra, Oscan Paapi = Latin Pâpius, Oscan Paakul = Latin Pâculus, Pâcullus, Pâcuvius, etc.), vide Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl's Priscae Latinitatis Monumenta Epigraphica, page 28 sequens, and compare Theodor Mommsen, Die Unteritalischen Dialekte, page 210 sequens. (The Umbrian language has gone a step farther, and written long a by aha, as Aharna, Naharcom, trahaf, etc.; compare Aufrecht and Kirchoff, Umbrische Sprachdenkm. page 76 sequens) See also the letter E and U.

III. In etymological and grammatical formation of words, short a very often (sometimes also long a) is changed into other vowels.
A. Short a is changed, 1, into long a—
a. In consequence of the suppression of the following consonants at the end or in the middle of the word: ăb, â; vădis, vâs; ăg-ăg-men, exâmen; tăg-, contâmino; căd-, câsus. Hence also in the ablative singular of the first declension, and in the particles derived from it, in consequence of the suppression of the original ablative ending. -d: PRAEDAD (Col. Rostr.), praedâ; SENTENTIAD (S. C. de Bacch.), sententiâ: EXTRAD (ibidem), extrâ; SVPRAD (ibidem), suprâ.—Hence
b. In perfect forms: scăb-o, scâbi; căv-eo, câvi; făv-eo, fâvi; păv-eo, pâvi (for scâbui, căvui, făvui, păvui).
c. In other forms: ăgo, ambâges; păc-, păc-iscor, pâcis (pâx); săg-ax, sâgus, sâga; măc-er, mâcero; făg- (φαγειν), fâgus. (Contrary to analogy, ă remains short in dănunt, from dă-in-unt, see Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl, Priscae Latinitatis Monumenta Epigraphica, l. 1. page 17.)
2. Short a is changed into ĕ or ê—
a. Into ĕ. (α) Most frequently in the second part of compounds, particularly before two consonants: facio, confectus; jacio, conjectus; rapio, dereptus; dăm-, damno, condemno; făl-, fallo, fefelli; măn-, mando, commendo; scando, ascendo; ăp-, aptus, ineptus; ăr-, ars, iners, sollers; ăn-, annus, perennis; căpio, auceps; căput, triceps; ăgo, remex; jăcio, objex. And thus in Plautus, according to the best manuscripts, dispenno, dispessus from pando, compectus from compăciscor, anteceptus from capio (on the other hand, in Vergil, according to the manuscript, aspargo, attractare, detractare, kept their a unchanged).
(β) Sometimes ă is changed into ĕ also before one consonant (but in this case it is usually changed into ĭ; vide infra 3.a.α.): grădior, ingrĕdior; pătior, perpĕtior; părio, repĕrio; păro, vitupĕro; ăp-, coepi (i.e., co-ĕpi); căno, tubicĕn, tibicĕn; in the reduplicated carcĕr (from carcar) farfĕrus (written also farfărus); and so, according to the better manuscripts, aequipĕro from păro, and defĕtigo from fătigo.
(γ) In words taken from the Greek: τάλαντον, talĕntum; φάλαρα, phalĕrae; σίσαρον, sisĕr (but according to the best manuscripts, camăra from καμάρα, not camăra).
b. Short a is changed to ĕ in some perfect forms: ăgo, ĕgi; făcio, fĕci; jăcio, jĕci; frag-, frango, frĕgi; căpio, cĕpi, and păg-, pango, pĕgi (together with pepĭgi and panxi, vide pango).
3. Short a is changed to ĭ—
a. (most frequently in the second part of compounds) (α) before one consonant: ăgo, abĭgo; făcio, confĭcio; cădo, concĭdo; sălio, assĭlio; răpio, abrĭpio; păter, Juppĭter (in Umbrian language unchanged, Jupater), Marspĭter; Diespĭter, Opĭter; rătus, irrĭtus; ămicus, inĭmicus (but ă remains unchanged in adămo, impătiens, and in some compounds of a later period of Roman literature, as praejacio, calefacio, etc.).—(β) Sometimes also before two consonants (where it is usually changed into ĕ; vide supra, 2.α.β.): tăg-, tango, contingo; păg-, pango, compingo (unchanged in some compounds, as peragro, desacro, depango, obcanto, etc.).
b. ă is changed into ĭ in the reduplicated perfect forms: cădo, cecĭdi; căno, cecĭni; tăg-, tango, tetĭgi; păg-, pango, pepĭgi.
c. Likewise in some roots which have ă: păg, pignus; străg- (strangulo, στράγγω), stringo.
d. In words taken from the Greek: μηχανή, machĭna; πατάνη, patĭna; βυκάνη, bucĭna; τρυτάνη, trutĭna; βαλανειον, balĭneum; Κατάνα, Catĭna; (written also as Catana); Άκράγας, Agrĭgentum.
4. Short a is changed into short or long o.
a. Into ŏ: scăbo, scobs; păr, pars, portio; dăm-, dŏmo; Fabii, Fŏvii (vide Paulus Diaconus' epitome of Sextus Pompeius Festus' De significatu verborum, page 87); μάρμαρον, marmŏr; Mars, redupl. Marmar, Marmor (Carm. Fratr. Arv.).
b. Into ô: dă-, dônum, dôs; ăc-, ăcuo, ôcior (vide this article).
5. Short a is changed into ŭ—
a. In the second part of compounds, particularly before l, p and b: calco, inculco; salsus, insulsus; salto, exsulto; capio, occŭpo; răpio, surrupio and surruptus (also written surripio and surreptus); tăberna, contŭbernium;—before other consonants: quătio, concŭtio; as, decussis; Mars, Mamŭrius, Mamŭralia; and once also condumnari (Tab. Bant. lin. 8, immediately followed by condemnatus, vide Leo von Klenze, Philologische Abhandlungen tabula I., and Theodor Mommsen's, Die Unteritalischen Dialekte, page 149).
b. In words of Greek origin: `Εκάβη, Hecŭba; σκυτάλη, scutŭla; κραιπάλη, crapŭla; πάσσαλος, pessŭlus; `άφλαστον, aplustre; θρίαμβος, triumphus.
c. ă is perhaps changed into ŭ in ulciscor, compared with alc-, `αλέξω (arc-, arceo).
B. Long a is sometimes changed into ê or ô.
1. Into ê: hâlo, anhêlo; fâs-, fêstus, profêstus; nâm, nêmpe.
2. Into ô: gnâ-, gnârus, ignârus, ignôro. (But in general long a remains unchanged in composition: lâbor, delâbor; gnâbus, ignâvus; fâma, infâmis.)
IV. Contrary to the mode of changing Greek α into Latin e, i, o, u (vide supra), Latin a has sometimes taken the place of other Greek vowels in words borrowed from the Greek, as: λόγχη, lancea; κύλιξ, călix; Γανυμήδης, Catămītus.
V. The repugnance of the Latin language to the Greek combined vowels αο has caused the translocation of them in Alumento for Λαομέδων (Paul. ex Fest. p. 18 Müll.).—Greek α is suppressed in Hercules from `Ηρακλης (probably in consequence of the inserted u; in late Latin we find Heracla and Heracula, cf. Ritschl, in Rhein. Mus. Neue Folge, vol. 12, p. 108).
VI. Latin ă was early combined with the vowels i and u, forming the diphthongs ai and au; by changing the i into e, the diphthong ai soon became ae. So we find in the oldest inscriptions: AIDE, AIDILIS, AIQVOM, GNAIVOD, HAICE, DVELONAI, TABELAI, DATAI, etc., which soon gave place to aedem, aedilis, aequom, Gnaeo, haec, Bellonae, tabellae, datae, etc. (the Col. Rostr. has PRAESENTE, PRAEDAD, and the S. C. de Bacch. AEDEM. The triphthong aei, found in CONQVAEISIVEI(?), is very rare; Miliar. Popil. lin. 11, v. Ritschl, l. 1. p. 21). In some poets the old genetive singular of the first declension (-ai) is preserved, but is dissyllabic, âî. So in Ennius: Albâî Longâî, terrâî frugiferâî, frondosâî, lunâî, viâî; in Vergil: aulâî, aurâî, aquâî, pictâî; in Ausonius: herâî.
B. ae as well as au are changed into other vowels.
1. The sound of ae, e, and oe being very similar, these vowels are often interchanged in the best manuscripts. So we find caerimonia and cerimonia, caepa and cêpa, saeculum and sêculum; scaena and scêna; caelum and coelum, haedus and hoedus, maestus and moestus; cena, coena, and caena, etc.
2. In composition and reduplications ae becomes î: aequus, inîquus; quaero, inquîro; laedo, illîdo; taedet, pertîsum (noticed by Cicero); aestumo, exîstumo; caedo, cecîdi, concîdo, homicîda.
3. ae is also changed into î in a Latinized word of Greek origin: `Αχαιός (`ΑχαιFός), Achîvus.
4. The diphthong au is often changed to ô and û (the latter particularly in compounds): caudex, côdex; Claudius, Clodius; lautus, lôtus; plaustrum, plôstrum; plaudo, plôdo, explôdo; paululum, pôlulum; faux, suffôco; si audes (according to Cicero or according to others, si audies), sôdes, etc.; claudo, inclûdo; causa, accûso. Hence in some words a regular gradation of au, o, u is found: claudo, clôdicare, clûdo; raudus, rôdus, rûdus; caupo, côpa, cûpa; naugae, nôgae (both forms in the manuscripts of Plautus), nûgae; fraustra, frode, frude (in manuscripts of Vergil); cf. Ritschl, in Wintercatalog 1854-55, and O. Ribbeck, in Jahn's Neue Jahrb. vol. 77, p. 181 sq.—The change of au into oe and e appears only in audio, (oboedio) obêdio.
5. Au sometimes takes the place of av-: faveo, fautum, favitor, fautor; navis, navita, nauta; avis, auceps, auspex. So Latin aut corresponds to Sanscrit ave (whence -vâ, Latin -ve), Osc. avti, Umbr. ute, ote; and so the Latin preposition ab, through av, becomes au in the words aufero and aufugio (prop. av-fero, av-fugio, for ab-fero, ab-fugio). Vide the article ab init.
VII. In primitive roots, which have their kindred forms in the sister-languages of the Latin, the original a, still found in the Sanscrit, is in Latin either preserved or more frequently changed into other vowels.
A. Original a preserved: Sanscrit mâtri, Latin mâter; Sanscrit bhrâtri, Latin frâter; Sanscrit nâsâ, Latin nâsus and nâris; Sanscrit ap, Latin aqua; Sanscrit apa, Latin ab; Sanscrit nâma, Latin năm; Sanscrit catur, Latin, quattuor (in Greek changed: τέτταρες); Sanscrit capûla, Latin căput (in Greek changed: κεφαλή, etc.).
B. Original a is changed into other Latin vowels—
1. Into e: Sanscrit ad, Latin ed (ĕdo); Sanscrit as, Latin es (esse); Sanscrit pat, Latin pet (peto); Sanscrit pâd, Latin pĕd (pês); Sanscrit dant, Latin dent (dens); Sanscrit gan, Latin gen (gigno); Sanscrit mâ, Latin mê-tior; Sanscrit saptan, Latin septem; Sanscrit daśan, Latin decem; Sanscrit śata, Latin centum; Sanscrit aham, Latin ĕgo; Sanscrit pâra, Latin per; Sanscrit paśu, Latin pĕcus; Sanscrit asva, Latin ĕquus, etc.
2. Into i: Sanscrit an-, a- (neg. part.), Latin in-; Sanscrit ana (prep.), Latin in; Sanscrit antar, Latin inter; Sanscrit abhara, Latin imber; Sanscrit panca, Latin quinque, etc.
3. Into o: Sanscrit avi, Latin ŏvi (ovis); Sanscrit vac, Latin vŏc (voco); Sanscrit pra, Latin pro; Sanscrit pâ, Latin po (pôtum); Sanscrit nâma, Latin nômen; Sanscrit api, Latin ŏb; Sanscrit navan, Latin nŏvem; Sanscrit nava, Latin nŏvus, etc.
4. Into u: Sanscrit marmara, Latin murmur.
5. Into ai, ae: Sanscrit prati, Latin (prai) prae; Sanscrit śaśpa, Latin caespes.
6. Into different vowels in the different derivatives: Sanscrit mâ, Latin mê-tior, mŏdus; Sanscrit prac, Latin prĕcor, prŏcus; Sanscrit vah, Latin vĕho, via.
C. Sometimes the Latin has preserved the original a, while even the Sanscrit has changed it: Latin pa-, pater, Sanscrit. pâ, pitri.
REFERENCE: Lewis and Short’s Latin Dictionary, Oxford, 1879.

Preposition

a (takes object in ablative case)

  1. of; from

Synonyms

Derived terms

Interjection

ā!

  1. ah

Lingua Franca Nova

Preposition

a

  1. to, at, in, on, toward, towards, in the manner of

Interjection

a

  1. ah

Noun

a

  1. the letter a

Mandarin

Particle

a (Pinyin a, traditional and simplified 啊)

Modal particle (used as phrase suffix)

  1. (in enumeration)
    qian a, shu a, biao a, wo dou diu le. Money, books, watch, I lost everything.
  2. (in direct address and exclamation)
    Lao Wang a, zhe ke bùxíng a! Old Wang, this won't do!
  3. (indicating obviousness/impatience)
    lai a! Come on!
  4. (for confirmation)
    ni bu lai a? So, you're not coming?

Pronunciation

Interjection

a (Pinyin ā or a, traditional and simplified 啊)

  1. (Beginning Mandarin) ah; oh

Usage notes

Pinyin

a (form of a0 or a5)

  1. 啊: exclamatory particle
  2. 阾:

Pinyin syllable

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

References

Min Nan

simpl. and trad.
啊

Pronunciation

Interjection

a (POJ, traditional and simplified 啊)

  1. ah; oh

Usage notes

Navajo

Letter

A a

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

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 English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Adverb

ā

  1. ever, always

Descendants

Old French

Etymology 1

Letter

a

  1. The first letter of the Old French alphabet, written in the Latin script.
    circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
    Le chief li desarme et la face.
    He exposed his head and his face.

Etymology 2

Latin ad

Preposition

a

  1. to
  2. towards
  3. belonging to
    fil a putain - son of a whore
Derived terms
Descendants

Etymology 3

From the verb avoir, aveir

Verb form

a

  1. Third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Polish

Pronunciation

Conjunction

a

  1. and; but
    A ty? - “And you?”
    Ty wolisz tabletki, a ja wolę zastrzyki. - “You prefer pills and I prefer injections.”

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Latin a.

Letter

a lower case (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet.
    • 2000, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e o Prisioneiro de Azkaban, Rocco, page 240:
      Era difícil dizer se a professora os ouvira, pois seu rosto estava oculto pelas sombras.
      It was difficult to tell whether the teacher had heard them, because her face was hidden by the shadows.

Etymology 2

From Latin illa

Article

a f.

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

See also

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

Etymology 3

From Latin ad (“to”)

Preposition

a

  1. to
    • 2005, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe, Rocco, page 143:
      Deixe-me mostrar a você...
      Let me show to you...
    • 2007, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte, Rocco, page 516:
      Não é bonito dizer isso a uma pessoa.
      It's not nice to say that to a person.
    Vamos a Paris! — “Let’s go to Paris!”
    a você — “to you” (***)
    a onze milhas — “eleven miles away” (*.*)
    a vinte metros — “twenty meters away” (*.*)
    a mim — “to me” (***)
    a ti — “to you” (***)
    a ele — “to him” (***)
    a ela — “to her” (***)
    a nós — “to us” (***)
    a vós — “to you” (***)
    a eles — “to them” (***)
    a elas — “to them” (***)
    à distância — “at a distance” (*.*)
    a cavalo — “on horseback” (*.*)
    a convite de — “at the invitation of” (***)
    uma viagem a Paris — “a trip to Paris” (*.*)
    fazer uma visita a um lugar (ou pessoa) — “to pay a visit to some place (or person)” (***)
    Meu coração pertence a você. = “My heart belongs to you.”
  2. at
    Onde vai ele a esta hora da noite? — “Where is he going at this time of night?”
  3. Indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced.
    A mim ele não engana. — “He doesn’t deceive me.” (literally, “To me he doesn’t deceive.”)
Usage notes

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

Synonyms
See also

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.”

Usage notes

See also
Portuguese personal pronouns ()
Number Person Subject (nominative case) Direct object (accusative case) Indirect object (dative case) com + indirect object
Singular First eu me mim comigo
Second tu, você te ti contigo
Third ele, ela lhe, o, a, se ele, ela, si consigo
Plural First nós nos nós conosco
Second vós, vocês vos vós convosco
Third eles, elas lhes, os, as, se eles, elas, si consigo

Etymology 4

From homophone há

Verb

a

  1. Common misspelling of há.

Etymology 5

From homophone à

Contraction

a

  1. Common misspelling of à.

Romanian

Pronunciation

Letter

a (lowercase, capital A)

  1. The first letter of the Romanian alphabet

Usage notes

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

See also

Article

a (feminine singular possessive article)

  1. of
    sora a lui Alexandru
    Alexandru's sister
    cartea a mea
    my book

Coordinate terms

Preposition

a

  1. (used with infinitive verbs) the infinitive marker: to
    A fi.
    To be.

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 spelling of aw.

Noun

a (uncountable)

  1. Alternative spelling of aw.

Scottish Gaelic

Pronoun

a

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

Usage notes

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.

Serbian

Pronunciation

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Serbian Latin alphabet.

Usage notes

The Serbian name for а (a) is а (ā), and in stressed syllables it has the sound of the long a in father. In unstressed positions, it has the sound of the u in but.

See also

Conjunction

a (Cyrillic spelling а)

  1. and
  2. but

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

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. (a 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 vijesti 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

Slovak

Conjunction

a

  1. and

Slovene

Pronunciation

Letter

a (lowercase, capital A)

  1. The first letter of the Slovene alphabet, followed by b.

Conjunction

a

  1. but

Spanish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. First letter of the Spanish alphabet.
    • 1605, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote de la Mancha1, Chapter I:
      En resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su letura, que se le pasaban las noches leyendo de claro en claro, y los días de turbio en turbio; y así, del poco dormir y del mucho leer, se le secó el celebro de manera que vino a perder el juicio.
      In short, he became so absorbed in his books that he spent his nights from sunset to sunrise, and his days from dawn to dark, poring over them; and what with little sleep and much reading his brains got so dry that he lost his wits.

Noun

a f. (plural as)

  1. Name of the letter A.
See also

Etymology 2

Latin ad (“to”)

Alternative spellings

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

See also

Sranan Tongo

Noun

a

  1. it

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

  1. the first letter of the Tagalog alphabet

Welsh

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. â, the first letter of the Welsh alphabet

Derived terms

See also

Yoruba

Pronoun

a

  1. First-person plural subject pronoun: we
    a lo — "we went"

 

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A review of monetary policy by Jaideep Mishra - Economic Times
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A review of monetary policy by Jaideep Mishra - Economic Times
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:56:28 GMT+00:00
review of monetary policy by Jaideep Mishra Economic Times But disaggregate figures point at a very different picture. Larger corporates, mostly, may well have benefited. There was hightened cross-border capital ... See a 50-75 bps hike in rates ahead: Kotak Mahindra Bank Moneycontrol.com Indian banks weighed by rising interest rates MarketWatch Will the RBI Spring a Surprise? Wall Street Journal (blog) Bloomberg  - The Hindu  - Hindu Business Line
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Workers wash oil off a brown pelican at the Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Center in Buras La Workers wash oil off a brown pelican at the Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Center in Buras La

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It's easy to take . a. bunch of tech gear, cram it in . a. space, and call your home office complete. It's . a. much more delicate affair to put your gear in . a. space while keeping the space pleasing to look at.

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What questions should a teen ask his doctor?
Q. My son hasn't had a physical in a while, so in preparation for back to school I have made him an appointment for a physical. This will be the first time that he will see the doctor alone, and as a young man not a child. I am trying to put together a list of questions that he might want to ask. He is 14 years old, is currently taking straterra, focalin and albuterol. What questions would you encourage him to consider asking?
Asked by lizyebe - Mon Jul 14 17:17:26 2008 - - 6 Answers - 0 Comments

A. When I was 14 I suffered from bad acne on my shoulders. I wish I had addressed it to a doctor earlier as it required treatment using prescription medication. Also, if your son is experiencing any sudden discomforts, e.g. pain when trying to retract foreskin, growing pains, etc. that might also be worth asking about.
Answered by Kross - Mon Jul 14 18:44:18 2008

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