a

See also: A, ᴀ, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

a U+0061, a LATIN SMALL LETTER A ← ` [U+0060] Basic Latin b → [U+0062]

Character variations

ᵃ U+1D43, ᵃ MODIFIER LETTER SMALL A ← ᵂ [U+1D42] Phonetic Extensions ᵄ → [U+1D44]

ａ U+FF41, ａ FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER A ← ｀ [U+FF40] Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｂ → [U+FF42]

Some typefaces have a single-story form of a. This has a dedicated Unicode character ⟨ɑ⟩ for IPA use.

Languages (176)

Translingual • English

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology 1

Modification of capital A.

Pronunciation

• Pronunciation of IPA [aː]:

  (file)

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

   (superscript) See ª.

Symbol

a

1. (IPA, phonetics) an open front or central unrounded vowel.
2. (IPA, superscript ⟨ᵃ⟩) [a]-coloring or a weak, fleeting, epenthetic or echo [a].
3. (international standards) transliterates Indic अ (or equivalent).

See also

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  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".

Further reading

• a on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• open front unrounded vowel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

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

Symbol

a

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

Etymology 3

From Latin annum or annus.

Symbol

a

1. Year as a unit of time, specifically a Julian year or 365.25 days.

Etymology 4

Abbreviation of are, from French are.

Symbol

a

1. An are, a unit of area one hundredth of a hectare; ares.

Etymology 5

Abbreviation of English acceleration.

Symbol

a

1. (physics) acceleration

Etymology 6

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from annuity?”)

Symbol

a

1. (actuarial notation) Annuity; (specifically) annuity-immediate.

   a_x:n̅| ― n-year annuity-immediate to a person currently age x

   a_x ― life annuity-immediate to a person currently age x

Other representations of A:

NATO phonetic: Alpha Morse code: ·– Braille: ⠁ ASL Manual: A

Signal flag:

Semaphore:

Gallery

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of A, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur
• 
  Approximate form of Greek uppercase Α (a, “alpha”), the source of both common variants of a A in uncial script

English

Etymology 1

The letter name is from Middle English ā, from Old French, ultimately from Latin ā. Use of the Latin letter in (Old) English displaced the futhorc letter ᚪ (a) beginning in the 7th century, and partially also ᚫ (æ).

Pronunciation

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

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈæɪ/
  • (Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈeː]
  • 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) IPA^(key): /æ/, /ɑː/, /eɪ/, /ə/, etc.

Letter

a (lowercase, uppercase A, plural as or a's)

1. The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.
   • 1917, John Wesley Young, Frank Millett Morgan, Elementary Mathematical Analysis, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, page 487:

     This expression is zero, for we have replaced the column of a's by the column of b's and hence the determinant has two columns identical.

   • 1926, George Kelly, Craig's Wife, Act I, page 5:

     Passmore. Capital P-a-double s-m-o-r-e.

   • 1974, Ervin A. Dennis, John D. Jenkins, “A Font of Type”, in Comprehensive Graphic Arts, Indianapolis, I.N.: Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., →ISBN, page 26, column 2:

     Note that with 18-point type, fifteen capital A's, twenty-five lowercase a's, and twelve 1's are obtained with one font. With this information, it is possible to refer to Table 10-1 which gives the number of characters for each letter, punctuation mark, or figure.

   • 2013, Margaret McPhee, Mistress to the Marquis, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Historical, →ISBN, page 249:

     Across every sheet of paper were lines and lines of letters of the alphabet. A row of a's followed by a row of b's and so on, pages of them, like pages from a copy book, crudely formed as if from the hand of a young child.

   • 2014 February 23, Rivka Galchen, “What’s Become of the So-Called Literary Bad Boy?”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-02-19:

     In the seventh grade I admired a charismatic, witty girl who had a particular way of writing her lowercase a's. After some practice, I took to writing my lowercase a's in the same fashion.

Usage notes

• In English, the letter a usually denotes the near-open front unrounded vowel (IPA^(key): /æ/), as in pad, the open back unrounded vowel (IPA^(key): /ɑː/) as in father, the mid-central vowel (IPA^(key): /ə/) when unstressed as in about, or, when followed by another vowel, the diphthong IPA^(key): /eɪ/, as in ace.
• A is the third most common letter in English.

Derived terms

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

See also

• (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

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 a's or (rare) aes)

1. The name of the Latin script letter A / a.
   • 1816, William Young Ottley, An Inquiry Into the Origin and Early History of Engraving […], volume II, London: […] John and Arthur Arch, […] by J. M'Creery, page 621:

     This piece somewhat resembles an a. On the left is a man seated on the ground, with a dog between his legs, and a large bird of prey in his hands, which appears to be biting his head.

   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Epic”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 2:

     But with some prelude of disparagement, / Read, mouthing out his hollow oes and aes, / Deep-chested music, and to this result.

   • [1906, Leigh H[adley] Irvine, “Abbreviations in General”, in The Magazine Style Code: A Manual For The Guidance Of Authors, Reporters And All Who Write, San Francisco, C.A.: Crown Publishing Company, pages 15–16:

     Letters should be spelled as follows; aes, bees, cees, dees, ees, efs, gees, aitches, ies, jays, kays, els, ems, ens, oes, pees, ques, ars, esses, tees, ues, vees, ws or dubleyuz, exes, wyes, zees.]

   • 1993, Frank Pagden, “Teaching”, in The Gospel According to St. Lynas, Tunbridge Wells: Mitre, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     St Lynas was chatting with a group of rebellious young college students one day, who decried the moral standards of the past. ¶ So St Lynas drew an 'a' on some paper, and asked them what it was. ¶ 'A' they said.

   • 2023, Amanda Stevens, Secret of Shutter Lake, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Intrigue, →ISBN, page 237:

     Compare Lydia's signature on some of the work orders with the warning notes. The loop through the lowercase a is similar. See what I mean?

Alternative forms

• ay

 

Derived terms

• A-okay

 

Translations

See a/translations § Noun.

See also

• (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)}

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *éy?

Proto-Indo-European *-nós?

Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos

Proto-Germanic *ainaz

Proto-West Germanic *ain

Old English ān

Middle English an

Middle English a

English a

From Middle English a, an, from Old English ān (“one; a; lone; sole”). More at one. The "n" was gradually lost before consonants in almost all dialects by the 15th century. Cognate with Alemannic German a (“a, an”), East Franconian a (“a, an”).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US, stressed form):

  (file)

• Audio (US, unstressed form):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophone: her (non-rhotic, unstressed form)

Article

a

1. An unspecified example of (something); the indefinite article. [from before 1150]

   There was a man here looking for you yesterday.

   • 1835, [Washington Irving], chapter XX, in A Tour on the Prairies (The Crayon Miscellany; no. 1), Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 151:

     He had another formidable difficulty in getting him across the river, where both horses stuck for a time in the mire, and Beatte was nearly unseated from his saddle by the force of the current and the struggles of his captive.

   • 1859 December 13, Charles Dickens, “The Mortals in the House”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Whiting, […], →OCLC, page 6, column 1:

     The young man thanked me, and took his leave with some little precipitation, after declining a glass of liquor.

   • 1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “(please specify the page) [Fourth Narrative. Extracted from the Journal of Ezra Jennings.]”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. […], volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1868, →OCLC, page 185:

     Speaking as a servant, I am deeply indebted to you. Speaking as a man, I consider you to be a person whose head is full of maggots, and I take up my testimony against your experiment as a delusion and a snare.

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, “Preface”, in The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →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)

   • 2023 March 9, Moya Lothian-Mclean, “A nose ring, a bicycle, a Radiohead album: I'm becoming a total cliche – and I quite like it”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-11:

     In retrospect, I realise, I had been unconsciously devoting a large amount of energy to negative choice, a concept I'm borrowing and adapting from sociologist Eva Illouz's 2019 treatise, The End of Love (by way of a viral Paris Review essay).

   • 2024 May 21, Sarah Larson, “When the C.I.A. Turned Writers Into Operatives”, in The New Yorker‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-21:

     The C.I.A. infiltrated not just magazines, radio, and movies but youth organizations and movements like Abstract Expressionism; all were meant to inspire a reverence for democracy and freedom, a project that, in Walker's telling, often tips into absurdity.

2. One; used before score, dozen, hundred, thousand, million, etc.

   I've seen it happen a hundred times.

   • 1945, Peter Cheyney, Sinister Errand, London: Collins, published 1952, page 8:

     Everybody drinks a lot in wartime, but it seemed to me that I must have drunk enough to float a couple of battleships.

   • 1999, Sara Hylton, Separate Lives, London: Piatkus, →ISBN, page 93:

     You've seen it a dozen times already.

   • 2024 February 27, “The economics of skiing in America”, in The Economist‎^[5], London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 May 2024:

     By the time he gets onto a chair, the pristine powder snow below the lift has already been chopped up by a hundred tracks, and the line to get back up stretches the length of a football field.

3. Used in some phrases denoting quantity, such as a few, a good many, a couple, a little, a bit, etc.

   He's a bit thick, isn't he?

   They asked me a few questions.

   • 1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “My Lord and Lady”, in Little Women: […], part second, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 315:

     But I was going to say, that while I was dawdling about abroad, I saw a good many talented young fellows making all sorts of sacrifices, and enduring real hardships, that they might realize their dreams. Splendid fellows, some of them, working like heroes, poor and friendless, but so full of courage, patience and ambition, that I was ashamed of myself, and longed to give them a right good lift.

   • 1989, Robert T. Michael, Heidi I[rmgard] Hartmann, Brigid O'Farrell, editors, Pay Equity: Empirical Inquiries, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, →ISBN, page 3, column 2:

     The main influence here is job tenure—the men had been at their specific jobs a good while longer than the women.

   • 2024 February 13, René M. van Westen, Henk A. Dijkstra, Michael Kliphuis, “If the Atlantic Ocean Loses Circulation, What Happens Next?”, in Scientific American‎^[6], New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 February 2024:

     Twenty years after the movie's release, we know a lot more about the Atlantic Ocean's circulation. Instruments deployed in the ocean starting in 2004 show that the Atlantic Ocean circulation has observably slowed over the past two decades, possibly to its weakest state in almost a millennium.

   1. Used before a numeral.

      There are a few hundred orders that need to be fulfilled by tomorrow.

      • 1934, Alan Villiers, Whalers of the Midnight Sun: […], New York, N.Y., London: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 154:

        The blues were eating leisurely, swimming about and opening their great mouths, spouting and filling their enormous stomachs with intense satisfaction. They had no idea of danger. There must have been about fifteen of them, peacefully feeding. One of them, its belly gorged probably with a few trillion plankton, seemed to be lying asleep on the surface.

      • 2020 July 31, Brian Friedberg, “The Dark Virality of a Hollywood Blood-Harvesting Conspiracy”, in Wired‎^[7], San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-15:

        The impact of hidden virality can't be stopped by retroactively banning a few thousand Twitter accounts; it is an iterative, memetic phenomenon that outpaces terms of service.

      • 2023, Don Winslow, City of Dreams, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 332:

        That was on the first day's walk. It took him until day three, after a good ten miles, to ask her out.

4. Used in some adverbial phrases denoting the degree or extent of an action, such as a little, a bit, a lot, etc.

   The door was opened a little.

   • 1978, Deane H. Shapiro, Jr., Precision Nirvana, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc., →ISBN, page 104:

     If, for example, you ask a child what he likes to do, he may say he doesn't know. However, if you watch him during free time, and note that he plays basketball a lot, you may infer that this is a high-probability behavior, and he finds it reinforcing.

   • 2009, James H. S. McGregor, Paris From the Ground Up, Cambridge, M.A., London: Belknap Press, →ISBN, page 163:

     The bridge was shifted a bit to the east and rebuilt, this time with the shops of money-changers along both sides.

   • 2023 January 13, Dana G. Smith, “Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health, Research Shows”, in The New York Times‎^[8], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-10:

     You don't need to go cold turkey to help your health. Even reducing a little bit can be beneficial, especially if you currently drink over the recommended limits.

5. The same; one and the same. Used in phrases such as of a kind, birds of a feather, etc.

   We are of a mind on matters of morals.

   They're two of a kind.

6. Any; every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope.

   A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties.

7. Any; used with a negative to indicate not a single one.

   It was so dark that we couldn't see a thing.

   He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head?

   • 2001, Stephen Lawhead, The Mystic Rose Book (Celtic Crusades; III), London,  […]: BCA, page 180:

     No, it is impossible. My conscience would give me not a moment's peace if I let you go. I would never forgive myself.

   • 2014, Sherry D. Ficklin, Queen of Someday: A Stolen Empire Novel, [Colony, T.X.]: Clean Teen Publishing, →ISBN, page 116:

     When had my own feelings become so muddled and complicated? Before I take a single step, he catches my arm, turning me to him.

   • 2016, Daphna Rabinovitch, “Fudge Truffle Tart”, in The Baker in Me, Vancouver, B.C.: Whitecap Books, →ISBN, page 204:

     My friend Cindy's husband, Michael Zahavi, a true chocoholic if there ever was one, adores this tart. In fact, when I visited their cottage up in Muskoka, Ontario one summer and brought this along as a treat, he got up in the middle of the night to nosh away at it, leaving us sleepyheads with nary a crumb the next day.

8. Used before an adjective that modifies a noun (singular or plural) delimited by a numeral.

   The lottery jackpot is worth a staggering three hundred million dollars.

   The holidays are a mere one week away.

9. One; someone named; used before a person's name, suggesting that the speaker knows little about the person other than the name.

   We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.

10. Used before an adjective modifying a person's name, typically used to emphasize that person's current condition or emotional state.
    • 1963, Robert Hancock, Ruth Ellis: The Last Woman To Be Hanged, London: Orion, published 1993, →ISBN, page 35:

      At Waterloo she asked George for £5 and said that she would go home by tube, and a relieved George watched her descend the Underground steps.

    • 2016, David J. Bailey, The Storm, London: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd., →ISBN, page 147:

      "There, I think that's done it," declared a triumphant John, "we just need to try it with the bar now, where is it?"

    • 2018, “Rwandan court drops all charges against opposition figure”, in Associated Press:

      "I will continue my campaign to fight for the rights of all Rwandans," a surprised but happy Rwigara told reporters after celebrating.

11. Someone or something like; similar to; used before a proper noun to create an example out of it.

    The center of the village was becoming a Times Square.

    The man is a regular Romeo.

    • 1987, Frederic V. Grunfeld, Rodin: A Biography, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, page 88:

      [Jules] Pécher actually sculpted a sort of Statue of Liberty for the centerpiece of the monument, but for the rest he thought it advisable to call in Van Rasbourgh, and Rodin thus became a ghost sculptor to a ghost sculptor.

    • 2009, Ed Macy, Hellfire, London: Harper Press, →ISBN, page 134:

      Billy fancied himself as a bit of a Han Solo, but he shook his head. 'Stop being a wuss.' He grinned. 'Your go.'

    • 2020, Laura Erickson, The Love Lives of Birds: Courting and Mating Rituals, North Adams, M.A.: Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 81:

      For the first 5 or 6 days after the eggs hatch, the mother spends most of her time keeping the chicks warm while the father provides most of their meals. All that work may be what prompts the female to leave the family. They share feeding duties more equally during the next week or 10 days, until the young leave the nest. Producing a second batch is easier if she skips the last grueling week or two of provisioning fledglings. She can recharge her batteries by moseying off and, while on vacation, looking for a new Casanova.

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.

Derived terms

• a few
• a great many

 

Translations

See an/translations § Article.

See also

• an

 

Etymology 3

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Preposition

a

1. To do with separation; In, into. [from before 1150]

   torn a pieces

2. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. Often occurs between two nouns, where the first noun occurs at the end of a verbal phrase.[from before 1150]

   I brush my teeth twice a day.

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

     A Sundays

   • 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America‎^[9], 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)

3. To do with status; In. [from before 1150]
   • King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18)

     To set the people a worke.

4. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. [from before 1150]

   stand a tiptoe

5. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. [from before 1150]
   • 1964, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “The Times They Are a-Changin'”:

     The times, they are a-changin'.

6. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. [16th c.]
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     It was a doing.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:21:

     Jacob, when he was a dying

7. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. [16th c.]
8. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. [from before 1150]
   • c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     Stands here a purpose.

9. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. [from before 1150]

   a God’s name

Usage notes

• (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

See also

• on
• a-

Etymology 4

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

Alternative forms

• 'a, 'a', ha, ha'

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Verb

a

2. (dialectal or slang) Have (auxiliary verb).

   I'd a come, if you'd a asked.

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v], signature H2, recto:

     So would I a done, by yonder Sunne, / If thou hadſt not come to my bed.

   • 1863 May 22 – 1863 June 26, L[ouisa] M[ay] Alcott, “A Day”, in Hospital Sketches, Boston, Mass.: James Redpath, […], published August 1863, →OCLC, page 36:

     "Well, I reckon it did, marm, for that shot would a gone a couple a inches deeper but for my old mammy's camphor bag," answered the cheerful philosopher.

   • 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 54:

     He dropped below me, with the current, and by-and-by he come a-swinging up shore in the easy water, and he went by so close I could a reached out the gun and touched him.

   • [1886, Robert Hollan, “A, prep.”, in A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester (English Dialect Society; XVI), London: Trübner & Co.:

     Oi'd a gen im a clout, if oi'd been theer.]

   • 1964, John Ehle, The Land Breakers, New York, N.Y. […]: Harper & Row, Publishers, page 53:

     They live in the river bottom. Don't you know a thing? I thought you must a seen them, since they was here all winter, cutting at the woods and burning brush.

   • 2013, William Brodrick, The Discourtesy of Death, London: Little, Brown, →ISBN, page 247:

     'I never told him, pleaded Liam. 'If I 'ad a done, he'd a taken the rifles, wouldn't he? Thing is, I wanted to fire a gun for real. See what it felt like. So I just borrowed it and went out on me own to have a go. But I didn't get the chance because I came across a patrol and I panicked and chucked the thing in a bin.'

3. (dialectal or slang, rare) had (auxiliary verb).
   • 1887 October, Octave Thanet [pseudonym; Alice French], “The Mortgage on Jeffy”, in Scribner's Magazine, volume II, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 478, column 1:

     I wisht you a seen 'im; fust he looked mighty gubious; then he begins ter laff. He'll git likened ter ridin' mighty briefly."

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

• coulda
• shoulda
• woulda

 

Etymology 5

From Middle English a, a reduced form of he (“he”)/ha (“he”), heo (“she”)/ha (“she”), ha (“it”), and hie, hie (“they”).

Alternative forms

• 'a

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʌ/
• (it): (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʌ/, /ɑ/
• Rhymes: -ʌ, -ɑ

Pronoun

a

1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, she, they: the third-person singular or plural nominative.
   • 1855, Kingsley, W. Ho!, page 120 (edition of 1889):

     He've a got a great venture on hand, but what a [it] be he tell'th no man.

   • 1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 2:

     Doctors, they knaws nowt, fur a [they] says what's nawways true.

   1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, the third-person singular nominative.
      • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

        a’ brushes his hat o’ mornings.

      • 1795, Peter Pindar, The Royal Visit to Exeter, a Political Epistle: by John Ploughshare ... published by Peter Pindar, Esq, page 5:

        Well! in a come [in he came]—KING GEORGE to town, / With doust and zweat az netmeg brown, / The hosses all in smoke;

      • 1860, Kite, Sng. Sol., ii, 16:

        A do veed amang th' lilies.

      • 1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 7, version of 1917, Raymond Macdonald Alden, Alfred Tennyson, how to Know Him, page 226:

        "The amoighty's a taakin' o' you to 'issén, my friend," a said, […]

      • 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros‎^[10], London: Jonathan Cape, page 8:

        And, by your leave, for all the marvellous rich and sumptuous coat a weareth, he is very like a false jewel in a rich casing.

   2. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) She, the third-person singular nominative.
      • 1790, Grose, MS. add. (M.):

        A wanted me to go with her.

      • 1876, Bound, Prov.:

        Did a do it!

      • 1883, Hardy, Tover, page 124 (edition of 1895):

        A's getting wambling on her pins [shaky on her legs].

Etymology 6

Etymology tree

Proto-West Germanic *ab

Old English æf

Old English of

Middle English of

English a

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

Alternative forms

• o', o

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ə/

Preposition

a

2. (archaic or slang) Of.

   The name of John a Gaunt.

   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     What time a day is it?

   • 1598, Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     It’s six a clock.

   • 1931, A. P. Carter, "When I'm Gone"^[11]:

     Two bottles 'a whiskey for the way

   • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 152:

     Isis rode my mug like she was on a ten-inch dick, and as soon as she nutted I tossed her ass off a me and flipped her on her back, then fucked the shit outta her cause it was payback time.

Usage notes

• Often attached without a hyphen to preceding word.

Etymology 7

From Northern Middle English aw, alteration of all.

Alternative forms

• a'

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

a (not comparable)

1. (chiefly Scotland) All. [from ca. 1350—1470]

Adjective

a (not comparable)

1. (chiefly Scotland) All. [from ca. 1350—1470]

Etymology 8

Alternative forms

• 'a

Particle

a

2. Pronunciation spelling of to.
   • 1923 January, “The Sunshine of Childhood (Contributed)”, in Benedict Brown, editor, The Grail, volume 4, number 9, St. Meinrad, Ind.: The Abbey Press, page 284, column 2:

     James was going with his mother to attend the ceremonies at which his oldest sister in the convent would make perpetual vows. Being asked where he was going, he answered, “I’m goin’ a see my sister make percapital vowels.”

   • 2007, BK Loren, “Got Tape?”, in Barry Lopez, editor, The Future of Nature: Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine, Minneapolis, Minn.: Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 43:

     The man walks toward me. “I met that asshole. He’s tryin’ a sell us a bag a bullshit.”

   • 2012 October 23, Tom Wolfe, Back to Blood: A Novel, Large Print edition, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 66:

     Don’tcha try deny it, / ’Cause Hose knows you dyin’ a try it— […] Knows you out tryin’ a buy it, / But Hose only gives it free

Related terms

• gonna
• gotta
• oughta
• tryna
• wanna

 

Etymology 9

Contraction of gonna, itself a reduction of going to; see Etymology 8 above (“to”).

Contraction

a

1. (African-American Vernacular) Used to express a future action; going to.

   I'm a go see what's going on out there.

   • 2010, Todd Bridges, Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted, New York, N.Y.: Touchstone Books, →ISBN, page 146:

     "Sure, Billy, I'm a run downstairs to the machine and get me a pack of bigarettes," he said, taking off with his Melody.

   • 2012, Bertrand E. Brown, Sylvia's Dilemma: A Novel, →ISBN, page 95:

     Ain't nothin' in the house to eat and now that we has Mr. Alex staying with us a few days I'm a need to buy some groceries so yous two can have the house to yo'self 'til I get back.

   • 2018, Monica Jeremie, Married to a Dade County Bully 2, Urban Chapters Publications, →ISBN, page 85:

     I'm a head out there now and take a look.

   • 2021, Ioan Grillo, Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels, New York, N.Y. […]: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 141:

     "The Glock 26 and the motherfucking, uh, the Hi-Point. I'm a try to get the both of them," another said.

Usage notes

• Mainly used in the phrase I'm a, which is usually spelled Imma.

Related terms

• Imma
• I'm 'onna

 

Etymology 10

Contraction of and.

Conjunction

a

1. (obsolete, dialectal, rare) Contraction of and.
   • 1655, William Barton, Man's Monitor, or, the Free-school of Virtue; Holding Forth the Duties Required and Sins Forbidden in the Two Tables of the Law., London: W.D. for T. Underhill, unnumbered page; republished in Early English Books Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Text Creation Partnership, p. 2011:

     By cock a pie and Mous-foot Dent bring's in, / Examples to express forbidden Sin:

   • 1746, “Exmoor Scolding: Or, a Devonſhire Dialogue:”, in The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XVI, London: Edw. Cave, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 353, column 2:

     Thee lace ma? Chem a laced well-a-fine aready.—Zey wone word more, and chell breſh tha, chell make thy boddize pilmee.

   • 1823, Edward Moor, Suffolk Words and Phrases: Or, An Attempt to Collect the Lingual Localisms of that County, London: J. Loder, page 2:

     4. as if. "I'll gi ye a dunt i' the hid 'a ye dew so no more." This is equivalent to the "an if" of some of our old writers.

Usage notes

• The Oxford English Dictionary notes: "The form is not common in any period, and some of the earlier examples could instead show a transmission error for an in its abbreviated form (i.e. ā, with mark of suspension)."

Etymology 11

Symbol

a

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

Etymology 12

Adverb

a

1. (crosswords) across

   Do you have the answer for 23a?

2. (chiefly US) Alternative spelling of a.m. (“ante meridiem”) or am

Etymology 13

Particle

a

1. Alternative form of -a (“empty syllable added to songs, poetry, verse and other speech”)
   • 2001, Louis F. Newcomb, Car Salesman: A Legacy, iUniverse (→ISBN), page 91:

     “I show a you right a here I can fuck a you.” “Is she crazy?” I asked Wyman.

Etymology 14

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Noun

a

1. The name of the Cyrillic script letter А / а.

Translations

See a/translations § Cyrillic.

Etymology 15

Interjection

a

1. ah; er (sound of hesitation)
   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     "We will resume yesterday's discourse, young ladies," said he, "and you shall each read a page by turns; so that Miss a—Miss Short may have an opportunity of hearing you"; and the poor girls began to spell a long dismal sermon delivered at Bethesda Chapel, Liverpool, on behalf of the mission for the Chickasaw Indians.

Etymology 16

Abbreviations.

1. (stenoscript) a word-initial letter ⟨a⟩.
2. (stenoscript) the long vowel /eɪ/ at the end of a word, or before a final consonant that is not /dʒ, v, z/. (Note: the final consonant is not written; [ɛə˞] counts as /eɪr/.)

   Thus the word a, plus its inflection an.

3. (stenoscript) the word a.m.
4. (stenoscript) the prefix ad-.

Quotations

Additional quotations for any terms on this page may be found at Citations:a.

References

• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “a”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: 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, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023.

Further reading

• “a”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “a”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Abau

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Noun

a

1. house

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʌ/

Determiner

á

1. this, these (masculine)

Derived terms

• ánnah

 

See also

See Template:aa-demonstrative determiners.

References

• E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “a”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[12], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Albanian

Etymology 1

• According to Orel, the particle and conjunction are etymologically identical. From Proto-Albanian *a and cognate to Ancient Greek ἦ (ê, “indeed”).

• 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.

Alternative forms

• ha (archaic, Buzuku)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Conjunction

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
2. whether

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. The first letter of the Standard Albanian Latin-script alphabet.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) shkronjë; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, Dh dh, E e, Ë ë, F f, G g, Gj gj, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, Nj nj, O o, P p, Q q, R r, Rr rr, S s, Sh sh, T t, Th th, U u, V v, X x, Xh xh, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

Further reading

• “a”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[13] (in Albanian), 1980
• “a”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006

Ama

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ãː/

Noun

a

1. tree

Anguthimri

Verb

a

1. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to pull

References

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 184

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin illa.

Article

a f sg

1. the

   a luenga aragonesa ― the Aragonese language

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/, [a]

Preposition

a

1. to, towards

Derived terms

• al

Noun

a f

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

Azerbaijani

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (phoneme) /ɑ/, (letter name) [ɑː]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Noun

a

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z
• (Latin-script letter names) hərf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, ə, fe, ge, ğe, he, xe, ı, i, je, ke / ka, qe, el, em, en, o, ö, pe, er, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑː]

Interjection

a

1. ah, oh (indicates surprise)

   A, doğrudan? ― Oh, really?

Further reading

• “a” in Obastan.com.

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)
2. he, she, they (singular)

Synonyms

• (they): u

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/, [a]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• see other Basque letters

Noun

a (indeclinable)

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

See also

• see other Basque letter names

Bavarian

Etymology 1

Cognate with German ein, eine, Yiddish אַ (a), אַן (an).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Article

a

1. a

See also

Bavarian articles

		m		n		f		pl
		stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed
definite	nominative	der, da	—	das, es, des	's	de	d'	de	d'
	accusative	en, den	'n
	dative	em, dem	'm	em, dem	'm	der, da	—
	genitive1	des		des		der, da		der, da
indefinite	nominative	a	—	a	—	a	—
	accusative	an	'n
	dative	am	'm	am	'm	a, ana	'na

¹) higher, formal register

• oa (“one”, determiner)

Etymology 2

Unstressed form of ea

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Pronoun

a

1. he

See also

Bavarian personal pronouns

		nominative		accusative		dative
		stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed
1st person singular		i	—	mi	—	mia (mir)	ma
2nd person singular (informal)		du	—	di	—	dia (dir)	da
2nd person singular (formal)		Sie	—	Eahna	—	Eahna	—
3rd person singular	m	er	a	eahm	'n	eahm	'n
	n	es, des	's	des	's
	f	se, de	's	se	's	ihr	—
1st person plural		mia (mir)	ma	uns	—	uns	—
2nd person plural		eß, ihr	—	enk, eich	—	enk, eich	—
3rd person plural		se	's	eahna	—	eahna	—

Etymology 3

Cognate with German auch.

Adverb

a

1. Alternative form of aa: also, too, as well

Belizean Creole

Preposition

a

1. of

References

• Crosbie, Paul, ed. (2007), Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri: English-Kriol Dictionary. Belize City: Belize Kriol Project, p. 19.

Big Nambas

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/
• Rhymes: -a

Preposition

a

1. in

References

• Big Nambas Grammar Pacific Linguistics - G.J. Fox

Breton

Etymology 1

From Proto-Brythonic *o, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a (triggers soft mutation)

1. from (expresses origin)

   tud a Vrest ― people from Brest

2. of (indicates an amount)

   un tamm brav a gig ― a nice piece of meat

3. of (expresses a quality)

   ur plac’h a enor ― a girl of honour

4. after certain adjectives or adverbs expressing quantity

   ur voutailh leun a sistr ― a bottle full of cider

5. after ordinal numbers with a plural noun

   tri a vugale ― three children

6. used in negative sentences with the grammatical object

   nʼem eus ket ken a vutun ― I donʼt have any more tobacco

7. before the infinitive after certain verbs like paouez, mirout, diwall, c'hwitañ

   paouezet eo ar glav a gouezhañ ― it has stopped raining [lit. the rain has stopped falling]

8. after substantivized adjectives used as nouns

   ur vrav a blacʼh ― a pretty girl

9. combined with a personal pronoun

   gwelet em boa acʼhanout ― I saw you

   an den a gomzan anezhañ ― the man Iʼm talking about

Inflection

  Personal forms of a  

singular		plural
1	ac'hanon	1	ac'hanomp
2	ac'hanout	2	ac'hanoc'h
3 m	anezhañ	3	anezho
3 f	anezhi
imp.	ac'hanor

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers soft mutation)

1. preverbal particle used when
   1. the subject precedes the verb

      ar mor a zo glas ― the sea is blue

   2. the object precedes the verb

      an den-se a glevan ― I hear that man

Pronoun

a (triggers soft mutation)

1. (relative) that, which, who (used in 'direct' relative clauses, i.e. where the pronoun refers to the subject or the direct object of an inflected verb)

   an hini a garan ― the one whom I love

Cameroon Pidgin

Pronoun

a

1. Alternative spelling of I (“1st person singular subject personal pronoun”)

Catalan

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/
• Rhymes: -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

• see other Catalan letters

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

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

• al
• als
• as
• cap a
• per a

Chayuco Mixtec

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Conjunction

a

1. or

References

• Pensinger, Brenda J. (1974) Diccionario mixteco-español, español-mixteco (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 18)‎^[14] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: El Instituto Lingüístico de Verano en coordinación con la Secretaría de Educación Pública a través de la Dirección General de Educación Extraescolar en el Medio Indígena, pages 3, 110

Chibcha

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Noun

a

1. open mouth
2. smell, taste

References

• Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.

Choctaw

Conjunction

a

1. yes

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

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

• an (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain.

Article

a (oblique masculine an)

1. (Luserna) a, an

   Maria iz a lavròunaren. ― Maria is a Lavaronese.

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Coatepec Nahuatl

Noun

a

1. water

Cora

Particle

a

1. outside
2. out of view (from the speaker)
3. entering a shallow domain; entering a domain in a shallow or restricted manner

   atyásuuna káasu hece

   The water is pouring into the (shallow) pan.

Antonyms

• u (“inside; within view”)

References

• Eugene Casad, Ronald Langacker (1985) “'Inside' and 'outside' in Cora grammar”, in International Journal of American Linguistics

Cornish

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

Interjection

a

1. ah

Etymology 2

Compare Welsh a

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers soft mutation)

1. Inserted before the verb when a subject or direct object precedes the verb

Etymology 3

From Proto-Brythonic *o, from Proto-Celtic *ɸo, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a (triggers soft mutation)

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

Inflection

  Standard Cornish

	Singular	Plural
First person	ahanaf	ahanan
Second person	ahanas	ahanowgh
Third person	anodho (m) anedhy (f)	anodhans, anedha

Corsican

Etymology

From the earlier la.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/
• Homophones: à, hà

Article

a f (masculine u, masculine plural i, feminine plural e)

1. the (feminine)

Usage notes

• Before a vowel, a turns into l'

Pronoun

a f

1. her, it (direct object)

Usage notes

• Before a vowel, a turns into l'

See also

Corsican personal pronouns

		Nominative	Dative	Accusative	Disjunctive
Singular	1st person	eiu	mi		mè
	2nd person	tù	ti		tè
	3rd person m	ellu	li	u, l'	ellu
	3rd person f	ella		a, l'	ella
Plural	1st person	noi	ci		noi
	2nd person	voi	vi		voi
	3rd person m	elli	li	i, l'	elli
	3rd person f	elle		e, l'	elle

References

• “a” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech a, from Proto-Slavic *a, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈa]

• Audio:

  (file)

Conjunction

a

1. and

Further reading

• “a”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “a”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Dakota

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (uppercase A)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Á á), B b, Č č, Čh čh, Čʼ čʼ, D d, E e (É é), G g, Ǧ ǧ, H h, Ȟ ȟ, I i (Í í), K k, Kh kh, Kȟ kȟ, Kʼ kʼ, M m, N n, ŋ, O o (Ó ó), P p, Ph ph, Pȟ pȟ, Pʼ pʼ, S s, Š š, T t, Th th, Tȟ tȟ, Tʼ tʼ, U u (Ú ú), W w, Y y, Z z, Ž ž, ʼ

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

1. to
2. at

Danish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):