A

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See also Appendix:Variations of "a"

Contents

Translingual [edit]

LetterA.svg
Unicode name LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
Codepoint U+0041
 @ ← Basic Latin → B 

Etymology 1 [edit]

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

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /ɑː/, /a/ (most languages)

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

Symbol [edit]

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 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 [edit]
  • (previous) 9, (next) B

Related terms [edit]

Letters sharing the same origin as "A"
  • Arabic ا (a, “alif”)
  • Coptic Ⲁ (a, “alfa”)
  • Cyrillic А (A)
  • Devanāgari अ (a, “aksara”)
  • Greek Α (A, “Alpha”)
  • Hebrew א (a, “aleph”)
  • Phoenician 𐤀
  • Syriac ܐ (a, “alaph”)

Etymology 2 [edit]

Abbreviation of various terms.

Symbol [edit]

A

  1. (stock symbol) Symbol for the company Agilent Technologies, Inc. on the NYSE.
  2. (chemistry, obsolete) Symbol for the element Argon (Since 1956 has been changed to Ar).
  3. (geometry) area

Abbreviation [edit]

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 [edit]

Other representations of A:

  • Letter styles

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

  • Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur

  • A in uncial script

External links [edit]

References [edit]

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

English [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

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

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

  • Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚪ (a, “āc”) 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”).
  • Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚫ (æ, “æsc”) 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”).

Alternative forms [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • (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 [edit]

A uppercase (lowercase a)

  1. The first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
    Apple starts with A.
    • 1945, George Orwell, Animal Farm, chapter 3
      Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof […]
Related terms [edit]
See also [edit]

Number [edit]

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 [edit]

  • (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 Australia

Symbol [edit]

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 [edit]
Rank or size
Letter grade
(music) tone three fifths above C
Blood type

Abbreviation [edit]

A

  1. Ace
  2. Acre
  3. Adult; as used in film rating
  4. Ammeter
  5. (physics) angstrom
  6. Answer
  7. (sports) An assist
  8. (weaponry) atom; atomic
Synonyms [edit]
  • (physics, angstrom): Å
Derived terms [edit]

Statistics [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 2003 [1933], Brown, Lesley. editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, edition 5th, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7, page 1:
  2. ^ 2007 [2002], Lindberg, Christine A. editor, The Oxford College Dictionary, edition 2nd, New York, NY: Spark Publishing., ISBN 978-1-4114-0500-4, page 1:

American Sign Language [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

  • (with the thumb extended) OpenA

Etymology [edit]

French Sign Language letter a

From French Sign Language sign for the letter A.

Production [edit]

This one-handed ASL sign is produced as follows:

Letter [edit]

A (Stokoe A)

  1. The letter A

See also [edit]

Azeri [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Catalan [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Danish [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /æː/, ['æːˀ]
  • Rhymes: -æː
  • Audio (Copenhagen)
    		(file)

Etymology 1 [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

Etymology 2 [edit]

Noun [edit]

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

  1. The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Inflection [edit]
    Inflection of A
missing gender Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative, dative and accusative A A'et A'er A'erne
genitive A's A'ets A'ers A'ernes

Alternative forms [edit]

Dutch [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Esperanto [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

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

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Finnish [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Abbreviation [edit]

A

  1. approbatur

French [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.
  2. capital form of à
  3. capital form of â

Derived terms [edit]

German [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

Noun [edit]

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.

German Sign Language [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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

Production [edit]

This one-handed GSL sign is produced as follows:

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

Letter [edit]

A

  1. the letter A

Italian [edit]

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia it

Pronunciation [edit]

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

Letter [edit]

A m and f (invariable, lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Latin [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • audio (ecclesiastical)
    		(file)

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

Abbreviation [edit]

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 [edit]

References [edit]

  • Lewis and Short’s Latin Dictionary, Oxford, 1879

Latvian [edit]

Latvian Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia lv

Etymology [edit]

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 [edit]

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Letter [edit]

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 [edit]

Luxembourgish [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

A n (plural Aen)

  1. eye

Malay [edit]

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia ms

Pronunciation [edit]

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

Letter [edit]

A

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

See also [edit]

Norwegian Bokmål [edit]

Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia nb

Letter [edit]

A (uppercase, lowercase a)

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

See also [edit]

Noun [edit]

A m (definite singular Aen; indefinite plural A-er; definite plural A-ene)

  1. letter A

Norwegian Nynorsk [edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia nn

Pronunciation [edit]

Letter [edit]

A (uppercase, lowercase a)

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

See also [edit]

Noun [edit]

A m (definite singular Aen; indefinite plural A-ar; definite plural A-ane)

  1. letter A

Romanian [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Scots [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Old English iċ.

Pronunciation [edit]

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

Pronoun [edit]

A (first person singular, emphatic I)

  1. I

Slovene [edit]

Slovene Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia sl

Pronunciation [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

Related terms [edit]

See also [edit]

Somali [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

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

Letter [edit]

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 [edit]

  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 [edit]

Spanish [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

Noun [edit]

A m

  1. (chess) bishop

Turkish [edit]

Letter [edit]

A upper case (lower case a)

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

See also [edit]

Vietnamese [edit]

Letter [edit]

A

  1. The first letter of the Vietnamese alphabet.

See also [edit]

  • Next letter: Ă

Interjection [edit]

A!

  1. hah!
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