a-

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1 1.1.1 Etymology 1 1.1.1.1 Prefix 1.1.2 Etymology 2 1.1.2.1 Prefix 1.1.3 Etymology 3 1.1.3.1 Prefix 1.1.4 Etymology 4 1.1.4.1 Prefix 1.2 Pronunciation 2 1.2.1 Etymology 5 1.2.1.1 Prefix 1.2.1.1.1 Related terms 2 Croatian 2.1 Etymology 2.2 Prefix 3 Latin 3.1 Alternative forms 3.2 Etymology 3.3 Prefix 3.3.1 Usage notes 4 Old English 4.1 Etymology 4.2 Pronunciation 4.3 Prefix

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation 1

• IPA: /ə/, SAMPA: /@/

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old English ā-, originally ar-. Cognate with German er-.

[edit] Prefix

a- no longer productive

1. forming verbs with the sense away, from, out, e.g. arise, await

[edit] Etymology 2

A proclitic form of a (preposition).

[edit] Prefix

a- no longer productive

1. in, on

[edit] Etymology 3

From Middle English variant form of y-, from Old English ġe-.

[edit] Prefix

a- no longer productive

1. representing the Anglo-Saxon intensifying prefix, sometimes with little change in meaning, e.g. aware
   • The Twelve Days of Christmas:

     On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.

     Six geese a-laying

[edit] Etymology 4

From Anglo-Norman a-, from Old French e-, from Latin ex-.

[edit] Prefix

a- no longer productive

1. forming words with the sense of wholly, out, e.g. abash

[edit] Pronunciation 2

• IPA: /ə/, /eɪ/
• SAMPA: /@/, /eI/

[edit] Etymology 5

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

[edit] Prefix

a-

1. Forming words denoting absence or lack, e.g. abyss, amoral, usually with stems beginning with consonants.
   • 1948 (revised 1952), Robert Graves, The White Goddess, Faber & Faber 1999, p. 7:

     When invited to believe in the Chimaera, the horse-centaurs, or the winged horse Pegasus, all of them straightforward Pelasgian cult-symbols, a philosopher felt bound to reject them as a-zoölogical improbabilities [...].

[edit] Related terms

• an-

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[edit] Croatian

[edit] Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

[edit] Prefix

a-

1. Prefix prepended to words to denote a negation, deprivation or absence of a property denoted by base word.

   • a- + socijalan → asocijalan
   • a- + simetrija → asimetrija
   • a- + brahija → abrahija

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[edit] Latin

[edit] Alternative forms

• ab-, abs-

[edit] Etymology

From ab (“‘away from’”)

[edit] Prefix

a-

1. away from

[edit] Usage notes

• used before consonants, but not usually not 'c' or 't'.

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[edit] Old English

[edit] Etymology

From an earlier form ar-, from Germanic: cognate with German er-.

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɑː/

[edit] Prefix

ā-

1. forming words with the sense from, away, off, out, e.g. āniman