a

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

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

• IPA

  (file)

a (upper case A)

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

a

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

• (Latin script): Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
• (Variations of letter A): Áá Àà Ââ Ǎǎ Ăă Ãã Ảả Ȧȧ Ạạ Ää Åå Ḁḁ Āā Ąą ᶏ Ⱥⱥ Ȁȁ Ấấ Ầầ Ẫẫ Ẩẩ Ậậ Ắắ Ằằ Ẵẵ Ẳẳ Ặặ Ǻǻ Ǡǡ Ǟǟ Ȁȁ Ȃȃ Ɑɑ ᴀ Ɐɐ ɒ Ａａ Ææ Ǽǽ Ǣǣ Ꜳꜳ Ꜵꜵ Ꜷꜷ Ꜹꜹ Ꜻꜻ
• For more variations, see Appendix:Variations of "a".

• a on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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

a

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

From Latin annus.

a

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

Abbreviation of are, from French are.

a

1. An are, a unit of area of which 100 comprise a hectare; ares.

Abbreviation of acceleration

a

1. (physics) acceleration

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

Runic letter ᚫ (a, “ansuz”), source for Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letters replaced by a

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”).

• (Gregg Shorthand) · (dot)

• (letter name)
  • (UK, US) IPA^(key): /eɪ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • (General Australian) 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/, ...

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.

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.

• Digraph sequences: ae, ah, ai, au, aw, ay, ea, eau, ia, oa, ua

• (Latin script letters) letter; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz
• (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee / zed

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.

a (plural aes)[1]

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

• (Latin script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee/zed ^{(Category: en:Latin letter names)}

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.

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

• Audio (US), stressed

  (file)

• Audio (US), unstressed

  (file)

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[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, 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!

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Anna, do you have a pen? — Yes. I have a pen in my bag. I have a (stressed) …

     Audio (US)

     (file)

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 and 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.

• 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.

• From Middle English a, o, from Old English a-, an, on.
• Unstressed form of on.

• IPA^(key): /ə/

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. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. [First attested before 1150][2]

   I brush my teeth twice a day.

   • 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, IV-v

     A Sundays

   • 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America‎, archived from the original on 7 February 2019:

     Patent requests for machine learning activities grew on average by 28 percent a year between 2013 and 2016, the study found.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

4. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. [First attested before 1150][2]
   • (Can we date this quote?) Christopher Marlowe

     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]

   King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18)

   To set the people a worke.

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]

• (position, direction): Can also be attached without a hyphen, as aback, ahorse, afoot. See a-
• (separation): Can also be attached without hyphen, as asunder. See a-
• (status): Can also be attached without hyphen, as afloat, awake. See a-.
• (process): Can also be attached with or without hyphen, as a-changing

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

• 'a, 'a', ha, ha'

• IPA^(key): /ə/

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.

• Now often attached to preceding auxiliary verb. See -a.

• (he): From Middle English a, ha (“he”), unstressed variant of he, from Old English hē.
• (she): From Middle English a, ha, unstressed variant of heo, hie, hi, from Old English hēo, hīo, hī feminine of hē (“he”).
• (they): From Middle English a, ha, unstressed variant of hie, hi, from Old English hīe, hī plural of hē (“he”).
• (it): From Middle English a, ha, unstressed variant of he, heo, from Old English hit (“it”).
• (I): From Middle English [Term?] variant of the word I.

• 'a

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (it): (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/, /ɑ/

a

1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialectal) 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.

Variant spelling of ah.

• IPA^(key): /ə/, /ɑː/

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.

From Middle English of, with apocope of the final f and vowel reduction.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ə/

a

1. (archaic, slang) Of.

   The name of John a Gaunt.

   • a. 1597, Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1, I-ii

     What time a day is it?

   • 1598, Ben Jonson, Every man in his humour

     It’s six a clock.

   • 1931 (created) - 2009 (revived) - 2011 (viral video) - 2012 (film version), Cups (When I'm Gone)

     Two bottles 'a whiskey for the way[4]

• Often attached without a hyphen to preceding word.

• o’, o

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɔ/

• a'

a (not comparable)

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

a (not comparable)

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

Symbols

a

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

a

1. (crosswords) across

   Do you have the answer for 23a?

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:a.

• “a” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1.
• Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN)
• “a” in Christine A. Lindberg, editor, The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, 2002, →ISBN, page 1.

• a at OneLook Dictionary Search
• a in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. house

a

1. The first letter of the Afar alphabet

IPA^(key): /ʌ/

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, T t, S s, E e, C c, K k, X x, I i, D d, Q q, R r, F f, G g, O o, L l, M m, N n, U u, W w, H h, Y y

a

1. this

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.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. or
2. there

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.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. probably, perhaps

• IPA^(key): /ãː/

a

1. tree

From Latin illa.

a f sg

1. the

   a luenga aragonesa ― the Aragonese language

From Latin ad.

a

1. to, towards

• al

a f

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

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a lower case (upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) hərf; Aa, Bb, Cc, Çç, Dd, Ee, Əə, Ff, Gg, Ğğ, Hh, Xx, Iı, İi, Jj, Kk, Qq, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Öö, Pp, Rr, Ss, Şş, Tt, Uu, Üü, Vv, Yy, Zz

a

1. the (definite article).

a

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

a

1. they, them (plural)

a

1. a

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• no saber ni la a

• (Latin script letters) alfabet català; Aa, Bb, Cc, (Çç), Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, (L·Ll·l), Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

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

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

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.

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’.

• al
• als
• as
• cap a
• per a

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a

1. he
2. she
3. it

a

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

• IPA^(key): /ə/

a

1. Marks the following verb to the preceding subject.

a

1. of (Expresses separation, origin, composition/substance or a quality)
2. of (Comes between a preceding large number and a following plural noun to express quantity)
3. from (Indicates provenance)

From Proto-Slavic *a.

• IPA^(key): /a/

• audio

  (file)

a

1. and

From Latin ad.

a

1. to
2. at

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) bogstav; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz, Ææ, Øø, Åå

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

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

1. The name of the letter A or a.

• à (unofficial but common)

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

a

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

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

a

1. imperative of ae

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /aː/

• Audio

  (file)

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) letter; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

From Middle Dutch â, from Old Dutch ā, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

• aa (especially in names)
• ie

a f (plural a's, diminutive aatje n)

1. (archaic) a stream or water

• eiland

From Middle Dutch jou, from Old Dutch *jū, a northern (Frisian?) variant of *iu, from Proto-Germanic *iwwiz, a West Germanic variant of *izwiz. Doublet of u.

a

1. (Brabantian) you

• u
• U

a

1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of ˤ.

From Latin ego (“I”).

• IPA^(key): /ɐ/
• Hyphenation: a

a (personal, nominative case)

1. I
2. we
3. you (plural)

• Becomes aj- before a vowel (proclitic).
• Becomes -ja when acting as an enclitic.

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

• Audio

  (file)

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) litero; Aa, Bb, Cc, Ĉĉ, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Ĝĝ, Hh, Ĥĥ, Ii, Jj, Ĵĵ, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Ŝŝ, Tt, Uu, Ŭŭ, Vv, Zz

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

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

• (Latin script letter names) litero; a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo, go, ĝo, ho, ĥo, i, jo, ĵo, ko, lo, mo, no, o, po, ro, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, vo, zo ^{(Category: eo:Latin letter names)}

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

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, […]

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

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, […]

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

• IPA^(key): /ɛaː/
• Homophone: æ
• Rhymes: -ɛaː

a (upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) bókstavur; Aa, Áá, Bb, Dd, Ðð, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Íí, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Óó, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Úú, Vv, Yy, Ýý, Ææ, Øø

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a m or f (plural as)

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

Quebec eye-dialect spelling of elle.

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. (Quebec, colloquial) alternative form of elle (“she”)

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

a

1. are (100 square metres)

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

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

   Elle a un chat.

   She has a cat.

• à
• â

• “a” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

• (Latin-script letters) karfeeje; ', A a, B b, Mb mb, Ɓ ɓ, C c, D d, Nd nd, Ɗ ɗ, E e, F f, G g, Ng ng, Ɠ ɠ, H h, I i, J j, Nj nj, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, Ñ ñ, Ɲ ɲ, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Ƴ ƴ

a

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

• 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.

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

From Latin ad (“to, toward”).

IPA^(key): /a̝/

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

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.

• á, ás
• ao, aos
• ó, ós

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

IPA^(key): /a̝/

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

1. (definite) the

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.

Also, the definite article presents a second form that could be represented as <-lo/-la/-los/-las>, or either lack any specific representation. It's origin is in the assimilation of the last consonant of words ended in -s or -r, due to sandhi, with the /l/ present in the article in pre-Galician-Portuguese period. So Vou comer o caldo or Vou come-lo caldo are representations of /ˈβowˈkomelo̝ˈkaldo̝/ ("I'm going to have my soup"). This phenomenon, rare in Portuguese, is already documented in 13th century Medieval Galician texts, as the Cantigas de Santa Maria.[1]

IPA^(key): /ˈa/

a m (plural as)

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

See the etymology of the main entry.

a

1. accusative of ela

• IPA^(key): /a/, /ä/
• Rhymes: -aː

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

a n (genitive a or as, plural a or as)

1. Alternative form of A

The genitive and plural forms as are colloquial.

a

1. Abbreviation of a-Moll.
2. Abbreviation of Ar.

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

IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. (cardinal) four

a

1. Romanization of 𐌰

a

1. you (singular)

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

IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. the: definite article

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.

• an
• la
• lan
• nan
• yo
• yon

IPA^(key): /aː/

a

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

a

1. of, belonging to

• 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).

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒ]

• Audio

  (file)

a (definite)

1. the

   a hölgy ― the lady

Used before words starting with a consonant.

• az, for words starting with a vowel

• (context pronunciation, letter name) IPA^(key): /a/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

a (plural a-i)

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

• (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze ^{(Category: io:Latin letter names)}

a

1. Apocopic form of ad

• e (“and”)
• o (“or”)

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

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

a

1. to
   • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3 (in German):

     […] , que da-cá su quião que ta pertencê a êll.

     […] , to give him his share which belongs to him.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. to, at
2. to, for (indicating purpose)

   sala a attender ― waiting room

• a in
• al

• IPA^(key): /ə/

From Proto-Celtic *esyo (the final vowel triggering lenition), feminine Proto-Celtic *esyās (the final -s triggering h-prothesis), plural Proto-Celtic *esyom (the final nasal triggering eclipsis), all from the genitive forms of Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Welsh ei.

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.

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.

a (triggers eclipsis)

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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 ― bus seven

Originally a reduced form of do.

a (plus dative, triggers lenition)

1. to (used with verbal nouns)

   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.

• "a" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• “1 a (vocative particle)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “2 a (‘his, her, their’)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “3 a (particle used before numerals)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “4 a (‘that which’)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

From Latin ad.

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,

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,

• IPA^(key): /a/, [ä]

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a

From Latin ā (the name of the letter A).

a f (invariable)

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

• (Latin-script letter names) lettera; a, bi, ci, di, e, effe, gi, acca, i, i lunga, kappa, elle, emme, enne, o, pi, cu, erre, esse, ti, u, vu, doppia vu, ics, ipsilon, zeta

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

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.

• 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

a

1. Misspelling of ha.

a

1. Rōmaji transcription of あ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ア

a

1. (adj) masculine youth indicator

a

1. (adv interrog) indicator of question

a

1. (adv interrog) your

• Allen J. Christenson, Kʼiche-English dictionary, page 7

From Sanskrit अहम् (aham), from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂om.

a

1. I (1st-person personal pronoun)

a

1. you (singular)

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

IPA^(key): /a/

a m

1. pig

   Nana a doma.

   I shot your pig.

• Donohue, Mark and San Roque, Lila. I'saka: a sketch grammar of a language of north-central New Guinea. (Pacific Linguistics, 554.) (2004).

From Latin a.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. in
2. at
3. to

• al
• ala
• ai
• ales

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

• IPA^(key): /a/

a f

1. but, however, while, signal

a f

1. and, but, so, well

From Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through Etruscan.

(letter name):

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː/

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. (sometimes with littera) the first letter of the Latin alphabet.

   littera a ― the letter a

From Etruscan [Term?].

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː/