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]

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]

Translingual

Etymology 1

Modification of capital A.

Pronunciation

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

• IPA

  (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.

   (IPA, superscript ⟨ᵃ⟩) [a]-coloring or a weak, fleeting, epenthetic or echo [a].

2. (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

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”).

Alternative forms

• · (Gregg Shorthand)

Pronunciation

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

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈæɪ/
  • 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/, etc.

Letter

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

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

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, or, 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 aes)

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

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

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

  (file)

• Audio (US), unstressed

  (file)

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

Article

a (indefinite)

1. One; any indefinite example of. [from before 1150]

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

   I've seen it happen a hundred times.

3. Used in some phrases denoting quantity, such as a few, a good many, a couple, a little (for an uncountable noun), etc.

   They asked me a few questions.

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

   The door was opened a little.

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?

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

   a staggering three 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.
    • 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.

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/
• Rhymes: -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^[2], 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, Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Ievv of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act 4, [scene 3]:

     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/
• Rhymes: -ə

Verb

a

2. (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.

   • 1884, Robert Holland, M.R.A.C., A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, volume Part I--A to F., London: English Dialect Society, page 1:

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

   • 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, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     So would I a done by yonder ſunne
     ?And thou hadſt not come to my bed.

Usage notes

• Now often attached to 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”) and ha (“it”) (as well as of hie, hie (“they”)).

Alternative forms

• 'a

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

a

1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, or sometimes she, it. [1150–1900] (clarification of this definition is needed)
   • 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.

Etymology 6

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

Alternative forms

• o', o (preposition)

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, Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Ben Jonson (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"^[3]:

     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

Symbols

Symbol

a

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

Etymology 9

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 10

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 11

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Noun

a

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

Etymology 12

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 13

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, Oxfordshire: 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)‎^[4], 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.

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

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

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (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

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 and eine.

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

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)‎^[5] (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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Particle

a (triggers soft mutation)

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

Etymology 2

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, 1935–1957
• a in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 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): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
• Rhymes: -æː

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• see other Danish letters

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

Noun

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

1. The name of the letter A or a.

Inflection

Declension of a

gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	a	a'et	a'er	a'erne
genitive	a's	a'ets	a'ers	a'ernes

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

• à (unofficial but common)

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

Preposition

a

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

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Copenhagen)

  (file)

Verb

a

1. imperative of ae

Dutch

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /aː/

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

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

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

• aa (especially in names)
• ie

Noun

a f (plural a's, diminutive aatje)

2. (archaic) a stream or water

Related terms

• Aa
• eiland

Further reading

• Aa (waternaam) on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Etymology 3

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.

Pronoun

a

1. (Brabant) you

Synonyms

• u
• U

Egyptian

Romanization

a

1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of ꜥ.

Emilian

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɐ/
• Hyphenation: a

Pronoun

a (personal, nominative case)

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

Alternative forms

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

Related terms

Emilian personal pronouns (strong forms)

Number	Person	Gender	Disjunctive (tonic)	Nominative (subject)	Accusative (direct complement)	Dative (indirect complement)	Reflexive (-self)	Comitative (with)
Singular	First	—	mè	a	me			mêg
	Second	—	tè	et	te			têg
	Third	Masculine	ló	al		ge	se	sêg
		Feminine	lê	la
Plural	First	Masculine	nuēter	a	se			nōsk
		Feminine	nuētri
	Second	Masculine	vuēter	a	ve			vōsk
		Feminine	vuētri
	Third	Masculine	lôr	i		ge	se	sêg
		Feminine		el	li

Esperanto

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• see other Esperanto letters

Noun

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

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

See also

• see other Esperanto letter names

Estonian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (letter name, aa): IPA^(key): /ˈɑː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) täht; 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, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

Noun

a (genitive a or a', partitive a-d or a'd)

1. The letter a (the first letter of the Estonian alphabet)
2. (music) A (note)

   Synonym: la

Declension

Declension of a (ÕS type 26i/idee, no gradation)

	singular	plural
nominative	a-	a-d
accusative	a-	a-d
genitive	a-	a-de
partitive	a-d	a-id a-sid
illative	a-sse	a-desse a-isse
inessive	a-s	a-des a-is
elative	a-st	a-dest a-ist
allative	a-le	a-dele a-ile
adessive	a-l	a-del a-il
ablative	a-lt	a-delt a-ilt
translative	a-ks	a-deks a-iks
terminative	a-ni	a-deni
essive	a-na	a-dena
abessive	a-ta	a-deta
comitative	a-ga	a-dega

(music):

Declension of a (ÕS type 26i/idee, no gradation)

	singular	plural
nominative	a'	a'd
accusative	a'	a'd
genitive	a'	a'de
partitive	a'd	a'id a'sid
illative	a'sse	a'desse a'isse
inessive	a's	a'des a'is
elative	a'st	a'dest a'ist
allative	a'le	a'dele a'ile
adessive	a'l	a'del a'il
ablative	a'lt	a'delt a'ilt
translative	a'ks	a'deks a'iks
terminative	a'ni	a'deni
essive	a'na	a'dena
abessive	a'ta	a'deta
comitative	a'ga	a'dega

Etymology 2

Clipping of aga. Probably influenced by Russian а.

Conjunction

a

1. (colloquial, in fast speech) but

Etymology 3

Noun

a

1. Abbreviation of aasta.
2. Abbreviation of aar.

References

• a in Sõnaveeb
• a in Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat

Fala

Etymology 1

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

Article

a f sg (plural as, masculine u or o, masculine plural us or os)

1. Feminine singular definite article; the
   • 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, […]

Pronoun

a

1. Third person singular feminine accusative pronoun; her

See also

Fala personal pronouns

			nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
first person	singular		ei	me, -mi		mi
	plural	common	nos	musL nusLV nos, -nusM		nos
		masculine	noshotrusM			noshotrusM
		feminine	noshotrasM			noshotrasM
second person	singular		tú	te, -ti		ti
	plural	common	vos	vusLV vos, -vusM		vos
		masculine	voshotrusM			voshotrusM
		feminine	voshotrasM			voshotrasM
third person	singular	masculine	el	le, -li	uLV, oM	el
		feminine	ela		a	ela
	plural	masculine	elis		usLV, osM	elis
		feminine	elas		as	elas
	reflexive		—	se, -si		sí

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin ad (“to”).

Preposition

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, […]

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[6], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Faroese

Etymology

From Latin a.

Pronunciation

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

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

See also

• (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

Finnish

Etymology 1

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and a for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (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

Etymology 2

German musical notation.

Noun

a

1. (music) A (note)

Usage notes

Capitalized for the great octave or any octave below that, or in names of major keys; not capitalized for the small octave or any octave above that, or in names of minor keys.

Declension

Declension of a (type maa) singular plural nominative a a:t genitive a:n a:iden a:itten partitive a:ta a:ita accusative a a:n a:t inessive a:ssa a:issa elative a:sta a:ista illative a:han a:ihin adessive a:lla a:illa ablative a:lta a:ilta allative a:lle a:ille essive a:na a:ina translative a:ksi a:iksi abessive a:tta a:itta instructive – a:in comitative – a:ineen

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Pronoun

a

1. to
2. at

French

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Noun

a m or f (plural as)

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

Derived terms

• e dans l’a

Etymology 2

Quebec eye-dialect spelling of elle.

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /a/

Pronoun

a f

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

   C’te fille-là, a’a l’air cute.

   That girl, she looks cute.

Etymology 3

From Old French a, at from Vulgar Latin *at, from Latin habet.

Pronunciation

• (France) IPA^(key): /a/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /a/, /ɔ/
• Homophones: à, as
• Rhymes: -a

Verb

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

   Elle a un chat.

   She has a cat.

See also

• à
• â

Further reading

• “a”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Fula

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Usage notes

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

See also

• (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

Etymology 2

Pronoun

a

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

Usage notes

• 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.

See also

• aɗa (second person singular subject pronoun; long form), hiɗa (variant used in the Pular dialect of Futa Jalon)
• aan (emphatic form) (Maasina)
• an (emphatic form) (Pular)
• maaɗa (second person singular possessive pronoun (Adamawa))
• -maa (second person singular dependent pronoun (Adamawa))

Galician

Etymology 1

From Latin ad (“to, toward”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a̝/

Preposition

a

1. to, toward; indicating direction of motion
2. introducing an indirect object
3. used to indicate the time of an action
4. (with de) to, until; used to indicate the end of a range

   de cinco a oito ― from five to eight

5. by, on, by means of; expresses a mode of action

   a pé ― on foot

6. for; indicates price or cost

Usage notes

The preposition a regularly forms contractions when it precedes the definite article o, a, os, and as. For example, a o ("to the") contracts to ao or ó, and a a ("to the") contracts to á.

Derived terms

at/to + the table

-	Singular	Plural
Masculine	ao (ó)	aos (ós)
Feminine	á	ás

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a̝/

Article

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

1. (definite) the

Usage notes

The definite article o (in all its forms) regularly forms contractions when it follows the prepositions a (“to”), con (“with”), de (“of, from”), and en (“in”). For example, con a (“with the”) contracts to coa, and en a (“in the”) contracts to na.

Also, the definite article presents a second form that could be represented as <-lo/-la/-los/-las>, or either lack any specific representation. Its 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.

Derived terms

• á
• coa
• da
• na

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/

Noun

a m (plural as)

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

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronoun

a

1. accusative of ela

Usage notes

Due to sandhi, the accusative form o (in all its forms) regularly changes to -lo after verbal forms ended in ⟨r⟩ or ⟨s⟩, and to -no after verbal forms ended in a semivowel:

• Eu apagueina 'I quenched it' < apaguei‿a
• Ti apagáchela 'You quenched it' < apagaches‿a
• El apagouna 'He quenched it' < apagou‿a
• Nós apagámola 'We quenched it' < apagamos‿a
• Temos de apagala 'We must quench it' < apagar‿a

German

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/, /ä/
• Rhymes: -aː

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Noun

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

1. Alternative form of A

Etymology 2

Noun

a

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

Gilbertese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Numeral

a

1. four

Gothic

Romanization

a

1. Romanization of 𐌰

Grass Koiari

Pronoun

a

1. you (singular)

References

• 2010, Terry Crowley & Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics, fourth edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 142.

Gun

Etymology

Cognates include Fon à.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à/

Pronoun

à

1. you (second-person singular subject pronoun)

See also

Gungbe personal pronouns
Number	Person	Emphatic Pronoun	Subject Pronoun	Object Pronoun	Possessive Determiner
Singular	First	nyɛ́, yẹ́n	ùn, n	mi	cé, ṣié
	Second	jɛ̀, jẹ̀, yẹ̀, hiẹ̀	à	wè	tòwè
	Third	éɔ̀, úɔ̀, éwọ̀	é	è	étɔ̀n, étọ̀n
Plural	First	mílɛ́, mílẹ́	mí		mítɔ̀n, mítọ̀n
	Second	mìlɛ́, mìlẹ́	mì		mìtɔ̀n, mìtọ̀n
	Third	yélɛ́, yélẹ́	yé		yétɔ̀n, yétọ̀n

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Article

a

1. the, definite article

Usage notes

This term only follows words that end with an oral (non-nasal) consonant and an oral vowel in that order, and can only modify singular nouns.

See also

• an
• la
• lan
• nan
• yo
• yon

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/, [ə]

Conjunction

a

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

Preposition

a

1. of, belonging to

Usage notes

• 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).

Hungarian

Etymology 1

See az.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒ

Article

a (definite)

1. the

   a hölgy ― the lady

2. (before some time phrases) this

   a héten ― (during) this week

   a télen ― (in) this winter

Usage notes

Used before words starting with a consonant.

Related terms

• az (for words starting with a vowel sound)

Pronoun

a (demonstrative)

1. (in reduplicated constructions formed with postpositions) that

   A mellett a ház mellett vártam rá. ― I waited for him/her next to that house.

Determiner

a (demonstrative)

1. (rare, only in consonant-initial fixed phrases, with zero article) Alternative form of az (“that”).

   Foglalja össze, miről szóltak az a heti beszédek és leckék. ― Summarize what that week’s sermons and lessons were about.

   November 12-én, az a havi frissítőkedden jelenhet meg. ― It may be released on November 12th, on the Patch Tuesday of that month.

   Kérjük szíves tájékoztatásukat a tekintetben, hogy… (= abban a tekintetben, see az) ― We kindly request your information in that [= the] aspect…

   amondó vagyok, hogy… ― I am of the opinion that…, what/all I can / want to say is that… (literally, “I am that-sayer/-saying…”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (letter or phoneme itself): IPA^(key): [ˈɒː]
• (identifier or musical note): IPA^(key): [ˈaː] (in the names of minor scales; see also A)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

2. The first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, written in the Latin script.
3. (music) designation of the sixth note from C and the corresponding tone

Derived terms

• a-moll

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z, Zs zs

Further reading

• a in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (’A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2021)
• Entries in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: ISBN 9630535793
  • definite article; pronoun; determiner
  • speech sound; letter; first element; abbreviation
  • musical note and tone
  • interjection for displeasure, contradiction, surprise, disappointment, or pity and (dialectal) interjection for emphasis

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/
• Rhymes: -aː

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

Noun

a ?

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bókstafur; A a, Á á, B b, D d, Ð ð, E e, É é, F f, G g, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ó ó, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ú ú, V v, X x, Y y, Ý ý, Þ þ, Æ æ, Ö ö

Ido

Pronunciation

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (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

Noun

a (plural a-i)

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

See also

• (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)}

Preposition

a

1. Apocopic form of ad

Related terms

• e (“and”)
• o (“or”)

Igbo

Letter

a (upper case A, lower case a)

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

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• e (neutral tongue position)

Pronunciation

• (high-tone): IPA^(key): /á/
• (low-tone): IPA^(key): /à/

Pronoun

a

1. (indefinite) somebody, one, they, people (an unspecified individual).

   A gwara ya ka ọ bịa.

   He/she was told to come.

Usage notes

• Often gets translated into English with the passive voice.

See also

Igbo personal pronouns

		dependent	independent	object/possesive
Singular	first	m, a/e- ... -m	m, mụ
	second	ị, i	ngị, gị	gị
	third	ọ, o	ya
Plural	first	anyị
	second	ụnụ
	third	ha, a/e- ... -ha	ha
Indefinite		a/e	-	-

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à/

Determiner

a

1. this.

Related terms

• ahụ

Indo-Portuguese

Etymology

From Portuguese a.

Pronunciation

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

Preposition

a

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

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

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

Indonesian

Pronunciation

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. The first letter of the Indonesian alphabet, called id and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin script letters) 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

Ingrian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Hyphenation: a

Conjunction

a

1. and, but
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 17:

     A siä Jaakko, kuhu määt?

     And you Jaakko, where are you going?

   • 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 7:

     keskipäivääl hää [päivyt] on kaikkiin ylemmääl, a siis alkaa laskiissa.

     on midday it [the Sun] is highest, and then it starts to descend.

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 1

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

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

   sala a attender ― waiting room

Derived terms

• a in
• al

Inupiaq

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Interjection

a

1. listen, hark
2. oops (used to acknowledge an error)
3. oh (used to express surprise)

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Etymology 1

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

Determiner

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.

Determiner

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.

Determiner

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 (plural)

See also

Irish personal pronouns

Number	Person (and gender)	Conjunctive (emphatic)	Disjunctive (emphatic)	Possessive determiner
Singular	First	mé (mise)		mo L m' before vowel sounds
	Second	tú (tusa)1	thú (thusa)	do L d' before vowel sounds
	Third masculine	sé (seisean)	é (eisean)	a L
	Third feminine	sí (sise)	í (ise)	a H
	Third neuter	—	ea	—
Plural	First	muid, sinn (muidne, muide), (sinne)		ár E
	Second	sibh (sibhse)1		bhur E
	Third	siad (siadsan)	iad (iadsan)	a E

^L Triggers lenition ^E Triggers eclipsis ^H Triggers h-prothesis

¹ Also used as the vocative

The reflexive is formed by adding féin to the relevant pronoun: e.g. "myself" = mé féin, "yourselves" = sibh féin.

Determiner

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!

Etymology 2

A reduced form of older do (itself a reanalysis of do used in past tenses, and also present in early modern verbs like do-bheirim (“I give”), do-chím (“I see”)), or from the preverb a- in early modern verbs like a-tú (“I am”), a-deirim (“I say”) in relative clauses.

Particle

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

References

• Gerald O’Nolan (1920) Studies in Modern Irish‎^[7], volume 1, pages 89, 93–94

Etymology 3

From Old Irish a (“that, which the relative particle used after prepositions”), reanalyzed as an independent indirect relative particle from forms like ar a (“on which, on whom”), dá (“to which, to whom”), or early modern le a (“with which, with whom”), agá (“at which, at whom”) when prepositional pronouns started to be repeated in such clauses (eg. don té agá mbíon cloidheamh (…) aige, daoine agá mbíonn grádh aco do Dhia). Compare the forms used in Munster instead: go (from agá (“at which”)) and na (from i n-a (“in which”), go n-a (“with which”), ria n-a (“before which”) and later lena (“with which”), tréna (“through which”)).

Particle

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

Related terms

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

Pronoun

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.

Related terms

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

References

• Nicholas Williams (1994), “Na Canúintí a Theacht chun Solais”, in K. McCone, D. McManus, C. Ó Háinle, N. Williams, L. Breatnach, editors, Stair na Gaeilge: in ómós do P[h]ádraig Ó Fiannachta (in Irish), Maynooth: Roinn na Sean-Ghaeilge, Coláiste Phádraig, →ISBN, page 464: “Tháinig nós chun cinn sa 17ú haois freisin an réamhfhocal a dhúbláil: don té agá mbíonn cloidheamh..aige; daoine agá mbíonn grádh aco do Dhia (Ó Cuív, 1952b, 177), an tí ag a bhfuil a bheag do chuntabhairt aige (Williams, 1986, 155).”
• Gerald O’Nolan (1934) The New Era Grammar of Modern Irish, The Educational Company of Ireland Ltd., page 56

Etymology 4

Particle

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!

Etymology 5

Particle

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

Etymology 6

Originally a reduced form of do.

Preposition

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.

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
a	n-a	ha	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “a”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 a (vocative particle)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “2 a (‘his, her, their’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “3 a (particle used before numerals)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “4 a (‘that which’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

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,

Particle

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,

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/^*

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

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

Letter

a f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case A)

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

Noun

a f (invariable)

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

See also

• (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

Etymology 2

From Latin ad. In a few phrases, a stems from Latin ā, ab.

Preposition

a

1. Indicates the indirect object. to

   Porta questo cesto alla nonna.

   Bring this basket to grandma.

   Ai gatti piacciono i pesci.

   Cats like fish.

   (literally, “Fish are pleasable to cats.”)

   E lo chiedi a me?

   You're asking that to me?

2. Indicates the place, used in some contexts, in others in is used. in, to

   Andiamo a casa?

   Can we go home?

   (literally, “Can we go to home?”)

   Ora sto a Palermo, a Roma ci torno domani.

   I'm in Palermo now, I'll go back to Rome tomorrow.

3. Denotes the manner. with

   appena, a nuoto, a piedi, a caso ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

5. Forms adverbs meaning “in a manner related or resembling ~”.

   a cappella, a bestia, a braccio, a pennello, etc. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

6. Forms goodbye formulas from the time the persons will meet again. see you...

   A domani! ― See you tomorrow!

   A dopo! ― See you later!

   Al prossimo Natale! ― See you next Christmas!

7. Introduces the ingredients of a dish, perfume, etc. with

   pasta all'uovo ― pasta with eggs

   cornetto al cioccolato ― chocolate croissant

   shampoo al limone ― lemon shampoo

   patatine alla pizza ― pizza-flavoured crisps

8. (central-southern Italy) Denotes the direct object, but only if it's not preceded by articles

   Chiama a Paolo.

   Call Paolo.

   E non ci avevi visto a noi?

   And you didn't see us?

   the "us" here is repeated twice for emphasis

   Ascolti a me, signó!

   Listen to me, ma'am!

9. (followed by the definite article) Forms an interjection that gives an instruction or calls attention to something.

   Al ladro! ― Thief!

   Al fuoco! ― Fire!

   Al lupo! ― Wolf!

   All'attacco! ― Attack!

   All'arrembaggio! ― Assault! (yelled by pirates)

10. (regional) Forms continuous tense when preceded by stare and followed by verb infinitives. -ing. The standard language for this scope uses gerunds.

    che stai a dì? ― what are you saying?

    stavo a dormì ― I was sleeping

11. Repeated indicates the amount by which something grows. by

    a due a due ― two by two; in pairs

    a poco a poco ― little by little

12. Indicates the agent of a verb in some contexts. by. Sometimes interchangable with da.

    L'ho sentito dire a Livia.

    I heard Livia say it.

    (literally, “I heard it said by Livia.”)

    • c. 1909, Luigi Pirandello, chapter 2.3, in I vecchi e i giovani:

      Mi duole, creda, sinceramente, veder fare a un uomo come lei, per cui ho tanta stima, una figura... non bella, via! non bella.

      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• 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

Descendants

• → Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)

Etymology 3

Verb

a

1. Misspelling of ha.

Further reading

• a in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Japanese

Romanization

a

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

Jersey Dutch

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ʊ/, /ɑ/

Letter

a

1. A letter of the Jersey Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

K'iche'

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

Adjective

a

1. masculine youth indicator

Adverb

a

1. (interrogatory) indicator of a question

Pronoun

a

1. your

References

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

Kabuverdianu

Letter

a (uppercase A)

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

Kabyle

Alternative forms

• agi
• agini

Determiner

a

1. this

   a rgaz a

   this man

Kalasha

Etymology

From Sanskrit अहम् (ahám).

Pronoun

a (Arabic آ)

1. I (1st-person personal pronoun)

See also

Kalasha personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		a / آ‎	ábi / آبی‎
2nd person		tu / تُو‎	ábi / آبی‎
3rd person (near)		ía / اِیا‎	émi / ایمی‎
3rd person (far)		ása / آسا‎	éḷi / ایࣇی‎
3rd person (absent)		se / سے‎	te / تے‎

Kapampangan

Ligature

a

1. Connects adjectives to nouns.

   Romantiku a bengi.

   A romantic night.

   Pinakapalsintan a tau.

   The person I love the most.

   Mayap a abak.

   Good morning.

   Mayap a bengi.

   Good night.

   Dakal a salamat.

   Thank you very much.

See also

• na

 

Kashubian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/
• Syllabification: a

Etymology 1

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and a for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

a (lowercase, uppercase A)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, àã, B b, C c, D d, E e, É é, Ë ë, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, O o, Ò ò, Ó ó, Ô ô, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ù ù, W w, Y y, Z z, Ż ż

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Conjunction

a

1. and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)

Noun

a n

1. (music) a (note)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Interjection

a

1. Interjection that expresses various emotions; ah!

Further reading

• Stefan Ramułt (1893), “a”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego, page 1
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “a”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi, volume 1, page 9
• “A, a”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
• “a!”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Kayan

Letter

a

1. a the first letter of Kayan alphabet.

Pronoun

a

1. used for he, she, third person.

Koitabu

Pronoun

a

1. you (singular)

References

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

Krisa

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Noun

a m

1. pig

   Nana a doma.

   I shot your pig.

References

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

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin a.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

1. in
2. at
3. to

Derived terms

• al
• ala
• ai
• ales

Lashi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔa/

Adverb

a

1. not

References

• Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎^[8], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

Latgalian

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō. The source is not clear:

• Probably borrowed from a Slavic language (compare Russian а (a) and Belarusian а (a)).
• Alternatively, irregularly shortened from *ā, inherited from *ō.

Compare Lithuanian o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈa]
• Hyphenation: a

Conjunction

a f

1. and, but

References

• A. Andronov; L. Leikuma (2008) Latgalīšu-Latvīšu-Krīvu sarunu vuordineica, Lvava, →ISBN

Latin

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

(letter name):

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː/, [äː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [äː]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

   littera a ― the letter a

Etymology 2

From Etruscan.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː/, [äː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [äː]

Noun

ā f (indeclinable)

1. The name of the letter A.

Coordinate terms

• (Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

Etymology 3

Alternative form of ab by apocope (not used before a vowel or h).

Alternative forms

• à (earlier in New Latin)
• ab

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː/, [äː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [äː]

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Preposition

ā (+ ablative)

1. (indicating ablation): from, away from, out of
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.1:

     Gallōs ab Aquītānīs Garumna flūmen, ā Belgīs Matrona et Sēquana dīvidit.

     The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine (separate them) from the Belgae.

2. (indicating ablation): down from
3. (indicating agency): (source of action or event) by, by means of
   • 45 BCE, Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum 1.2:

     Quamquam philosophiae quidem vituperātōribus satis respōnsum est eō librō, quō ā nōbīs philosophia dēfēnsa et collaudāta est, cum esset accūsāta et vituperāta ab Hortēnsiō.

     Although indeed to the vituperators of philosophy an adequate response is in that book, in which philosophy has been defended and highly praised by us [me], when it had been accused and vituperated by Hortensius.

4. (indicating instrumentality): (source of action or event) by, by means of, with
5. (indicating association): to, with
   • 163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 1.77:

     Homō sum, hūmānī nihil ā mē aliēnum putō.

     I am a man; I consider nothing that is human alien to me.

6. (indicating location): at, on, in
7. (time) after, since

Usage notes

Used in conjunction with passive verbs to mark the agent.

• Liber ā discipulō aperītur.

  The book is opened by the student.

Derived terms

• a lacte cunisque

Descendants

• Italian: a
• → Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)

Etymology 4

Expressive.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aː/, [äː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [äː]

Interjection

ā

1. ah

Latvian

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): [a]

• Audio

  (file)

Letter

A

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (Latvian letters) latviešu burti; Aa, Āā, Bb, Cc, Čč, Dd, Ee, Ēē, Ff, Gg, Ģģ, Hh, Ii, Īī, Jj, Kk, Ķķ, Ll, Ļļ, Mm, Nn, Ņņ, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Šš, Tt, Uu, Ūū, Vv, Zz, Žž

Noun

a m (invariable)

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

See also

• (Latvian letter names) latviešu burtu vārdi; a, garais ā, bē, cē, čē, dē, e, garais ē, ef, gā, ģē, hā, i, garais ī, jē, kā, ķē, el, eļ, em, en, eņ, o, pē, er, es, eš, tē, u, garais ū, vē, zē, žē

Further reading

• a on the Latvian Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^lv

Laz

Determiner

a

1. Latin spelling of ა (a)

Letter

a

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) burts; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, Ç̌ ç̌, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, İ i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, P̌ p̌, Q q, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, Ť ť, U u, V v, X x, Y y, Z z, Ž ž, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ

Numeral

a

1. Latin spelling of ა (a)

Ligurian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

Ligurian Definite Articles
	singular	plural
masculine	o	i
feminine	a	e

Article

a f sg (plural e)

1. the

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

1. in
2. at
3. to

   Vàddo a câza. ― I'm going home. (literally, “I go to home.”)

4. indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis

   A mæ seu ghe fa mâ 'n bràsso. ― My sister's arm hurts. (literally, “To my sister an arm hurts.”)

a + article	Combined form
a + o	a-o
a + a	a-a
a + i	a-i
a + e	a-e

Livonian

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

From French avoir (“to have”).

Verb

a

1. to have

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (upper case A)

1. The first letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
2. The name of the Latin-script letter a.

Conjunction

a

1. and

See also

• See Template:list:Latin script letters/dsb.
• See Template:list:Latin script letter names/dsb.

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “a”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999), “a”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Lushootseed

Letter

a

1. The second letter of the Lushootseed alphabet, pronounced as an open back unrounded vowel.

Malay

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /e/
• (interjection): IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (Latin script letters) 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

Interjection

a (Jawi spelling ا‎)

1. Used to show excitement or to show agreement.

   A, macam itulah sepatutnya kaujawab!

   Yes, that's how you should answer!

2. Used to show that you have forgotten or are attempting to remember something.

   Dia ni, a, salah seorang Perdana Menteri Britain dulu.

   This guy is, uh, one of Britain's Prime Ministers in the past.

Further reading

• “a” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/ (short phoneme)
• IPA^(key): /aː/ (long phoneme)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) ittra; A a, B b, Ċ ċ, D d, E e, F f, Ġ ġ, G g, Għ għ, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Ie ie, 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, Ż ż, Z z

Mandarin

Romanization

a (a⁵／a⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄚ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 呵
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啊
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 阿

a

1. Nonstandard spelling of ā.
2. Nonstandard spelling of á.
3. Nonstandard spelling of ǎ.
4. Nonstandard spelling of à.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mandinka

Pronoun

a

1. he, him (personal pronoun)

   A m busa ― He/she struck me.

   Y a busa ― They struck him/her.

2. she, her (personal pronoun)
3. it (personal pronoun)

See also

Mandinka personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		nte, n, m	ntolu, ntelu, n
2nd person		ite, i	altolu, altelu, al
3rd person		ate, a	itolu, itelu, y

Maori

Particle

a

1. of
2. (determinative particle for names)
3. (particle for pronouns when succeeding ki, i, kei, and hei)

Usage notes

• When used in the sense of of, suggests that the possessor has control of the relationship (alienable possession).

Mezquital Otomi

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à/

Interjection

a

1. expresses satisfaction, pity, fright, or admiration

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• ʼa (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à/, /ǎ/

Verb

a

1. (transitive) wake, awaken

Etymology 3

From Proto-Otomi *ʔɔ, from Proto-Otomian *ʔɔ.

Alternative forms

• ʼá (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /á/, /ǎ/

Noun

a

1. flea

Derived terms

• aꞌni
• mfoxꞌa

 

References

• Andrews, Enriqueta (1950) Vocabulario otomí de Tasquillo, Hidalgo‎^[9] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 1
• Hernández Cruz, Luis; Victoria Torquemada, Moisés (2010) Diccionario del hñähñu (otomí) del Valle del Mezquital, estado de Hidalgo (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 45)‎^[10] (in Spanish), second edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 3

Middle Dutch

Etymology

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

Noun

â f

1. (rare) river, stream, water

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: a, Aa

Further reading

• “a (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000

Middle English

Etymology 1

Pronoun

a

1. Alternative form of an (mainly preconsonantal)

Etymology 2

Pronoun

a

1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of I (“I”)

Etymology 3

Pronoun

a

1. Alternative form of heo (“she”)

Etymology 4

Pronoun

a

1. Alternative form of he (“he”)

Etymology 5

Pronoun

a

1. Alternative form of he (“they”)

Etymology 6

Numeral

a

1. (Northern, Early Middle English) Alternative form of oo (“one”)

Middle French

Etymology 1

From Old French a, from Latin ad.

Alternative forms

• à (after 1550)

Preposition

a

1. to; towards

Etymology 2

From Old French, from Latin habet.

Verb

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Middle Welsh

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

1. O (vocative particle)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Pronoun

a (triggers lenition)

1. who, which, that

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

1. inserted before the verb when the subject of direct object precedes it
   • Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet:

     Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet a oed yn arglwyd ar seith cantref Dyuet.

     Pwyll Prince of Dyfed was lord of the seven cantrefs of Dyfed.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

1. used to introduce a direct question
2. whether, used to introduce an indirect question

Etymology 4

Reduction of o (“from”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

1. used between a focused adjective and the noun it modifies
   • Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet:

     bychan a dial oed yn lloski ni, neu yn dienydyaw am y mab

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     it will be small vengeance if we are burnt or put to death because of the child

Etymology 5

From Old Welsh ha.

Alternative forms

• ac

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Conjunction

a (triggers aspiration)

1. and

Etymology 6

Alternative forms

• ac

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a (triggers aspiration)

1. with

Etymology 7

From Proto-Celtic *ageti, third-person singular present indicative of *ago-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Alternative forms

• aa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

Verb

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of mynet

Mutation

Middle Welsh mutation
Radical	Soft	Nasal	H-prothesis
a	unchanged	unchanged	ha
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Min Nan

For pronunciation and definitions of a – see 阿. (This character, a, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 阿.)

Mòcheno

Etymology

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one, a”).

Article

a (oblique masculine an)

1. a, an

References

• “a” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Mopan Maya

Article

a

1. the

References

• Hofling, Charles Andrew (2011). Mopan Maya–Spanish–English Dictionary, University of Utah Press.

Mountain Koiari

Pronoun

a

1. you (singular)

References

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

Murui Huitoto

Adverb

a

1. Superseded spelling of aa.

References

• Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[11] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 19

Nauruan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Pronoun

a

1. I (first person singular pronoun)
   • 2000, Lisa M Johnson, Firstness of Secondness in Nauruan Morphology (overall work in English):

     a pudun

     1sing fall+Vn
     I fell

     […]

     a nuwawen

     1pers.sing. go+Vn
     I did go. (I left.)

     […]

     a kaiotien aem

     [1pers.sing.] [hear+Vn] [your words]
     I hear what you said.

     […]

     a nan imoren

     1pers.sing. FUT health+Vn
     I shall be cured (get better).

Navajo

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

   a = /a˨/

   ą = /ã˨/

   á = /a˥/

   ą́ = /ã˥/

   aa = /aː˨˨/

   ąą = /ãː˨˨/

   áa = /aː˥˨/

   ą́ą = /ãː˥˨/

   aá = /aː˨˥/

   ąą́ = /ãː˨˥/

   áá = /aː˥˥/

   ą́ą́ = /ãː˥˥/

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Á á, Ą ą, Ą́ ą́), B b, Ch ch, Chʼ chʼ, D d, Dl dl, Dz dz, E e (É é, Ę ę, Ę́ ę́), G g, Gh gh, H h, Hw hw, X x, I i (Í í, Į į, Į́ į́), J j, K k, Kʼ kʼ, Kw kw, ʼ, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n (Ń ń), O o (Ó ó, Ǫ ǫ, Ǫ́ ǫ́), S s, Sh sh, T t, Tʼ tʼ, Tł tł, Tłʼ tłʼ, Ts ts, Tsʼ tsʼ, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Latin de ab.

Preposition

a

1. from (referring to a place)
2. by (introducing the actor in the passive voice)
3. to (implying necessity)

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

1. in (locative: staying in a place of relative width)
2. to (locative: moving towards a place of relative width)
3. to (dative)

Nias

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən.

Verb

a (imperfective manga)

1. (transitive) to eat

References

• Sundermann, Heinrich. 1905. Niassisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Moers: Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, p. 15.

Norman

Verb

a

1. (Guernsey) third-person singular present indicative of aver

Norwegian Bokmål

The letter a from the Norwegian alphabet.

Etymology 1

From Latin a, from Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through the Etruscan language, from Phoenician 𐤀‎ (ʾ), from Proto-Canaanite , from Proto-Sinaitic , from Egyptian 𓃾, representing the head of an ox.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a
• Homophones: A, à, A-, a-, ah

Letter

a (uppercase A)

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

See also

• (Latin script letters) 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

Noun

a m (definite singular a-en, indefinite plural a-er, definite plural a-ene)

1. the letter a, the first letter of the Norwegian alphabet

   fra A til B ― from A to B

   fra A til Å ― from A to Z

   har man sagt a, må man si b ― if you have said A, you should say B

   • 1999, Lars Roar Langslet, I kamp for norsk kultur, page 234:

     bruken av a i bestemt form i hunkjønnsord

     the use of a in the definite form of feminine words

2. indicates the first or best entry of a list, order or rank

   Synonyms: A-, a-

   oppgang A ― apartment entrance A

   blodgruppe A ― blood group A

   førerkort i klasse A ― (motorcycle) driver's license in class A

   øl i klasse A ― beer in class A (with 0,0-0,7 volume percent alcohol)

   A post ― A post / priority mail

   A-aksje ― class A-share

   hepatitt A ― hepatitis A

   • 1919, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Samlede digter-verker I [Collected poetic works 1], page 454:

     [bokstavene begynte] at gaa sammen, to og to: a stod og hvilte under et træ, som hedte b

     [the letters began] to go together, two by two: a stood and rested under a tree called b

   • 1920, Jonas Lie, Samlede Digterverker V, page 389:

     begynde paa Ø istedet for A

     start with Ø instead of A

   • 1886, Arne Garborg, Mogning og manndom I, page 172:

     jeg traf sammen med et par generalbanditter, gamle gutter, storartede ranglefanter, 1ste klasse 1 A med stjerne, deilige herremænd

     I met a couple of general bandits, old boys, great revelers, 1st class 1 A with a star, lovely gentlemen

   • 1939, Knut Hamsun, Artikler, page 99:

     historie er hvad A mener til forskel fra B, og hvad C igen mener til forskel baade fra A og B om den samme sag

     story is what A thinks differently from B and what C again thinks differently from both A and B about the same case

3. the highest grade in a school or university using the A-F scale

   få A til eksamen

   receive an A on an exam

   • 2019, Helene Uri, Stillheten etterpå, page 14:

     jeg har gode karakterer. Bare A-er og B-er

     I have good grades. Only A's and B's

4. (music) designation of the sixth note from C and the corresponding tone

   A-dur

   A major

   A-moll

   A minor

   • 1944, Børre Qvamme, Musikk, page 10:

     synge en riktig A uten hjelp av et instrument eller stemmegaffel

     sing a correct A without the aid of an instrument or tuning fork

   • 1973, Finn Havrevold, Avreisen, page 127:

     han slår énstrøken a på klaveret

     he strikes one stroke A on the piano

   • 1997, Tove Nilsen, G for Georg, page 42:

     så gal at man virkelig tror at svaler er g-nøkler og bass-nøkler og a’er og c’er som svever rundt hverandre og lager konsert i himmelen

     so crazy that you really think swallows are g-keys and bass-keys and a's and c's floating around each other and making a concert in the sky

5. (physics) symbol for ampere
6. (physics) symbol for nucleon number
7. (horology) symbol for avance
8. symbol for anno
9. short form of atom-

   Synonym: a-

   a-bombe

   atom bomb (a-bomb)

Derived terms

• a-form (“a-form”), a-infinitiv (“a-infinitive”), a-kjendis (“A-list celebrity”)

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of atto- (“atto-”).

Symbol

a

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

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of ar (“are”).

Symbol

a

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

   Synonym: ar

Etymology 4

From French à (“to, on, in”).

Preposition

a

1. Alternative spelling of à

Alternative forms

• à

Etymology 5

From Latin ā (“from, away from, out of”), alternative form of ab (“from, away from, out of, down from”).

Preposition

a

1. (used in Latin expressions, before a consonant) from, of

   a posteriori, a prima vista, a priori, a tempo, a verbo, a viso, a vista

Alternative forms

• ab

Etymology 6

From Italian a (“in, at, to”).

Preposition

a

1. (used in Italian expressions, before a consonant) from, of, with

   a battuta, a cappella, a due, a dato, a konto

2. weak form of av (of)

Etymology 7

From Old Norse hana (“her”), accusative form of hón (“she”), from Proto-Norse [script needed] (*hān-), from a prefixed form of Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one; some”), from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one; single”).

Pronoun

a

1. (dialectal, used enclitically after a conjunction or subjunction) she
   • 1948, Helge Krog, Skuespill I, page 43:

     jagu slår a ja. Og det så det kjens. Forleden dag ga hun meg en knallende ørefik

     she can certainly punch. And so you feel it. The other day she gave me a popping slap to the ear

   • 1989, Bergljot Hobæk Haff, Den guddommelige tragedie:

     hu kunne ikke henge på seg så mye som et enrada perlebånd, uten at a måtte skotte opp i skyene for å høre hva den aller høyeste mente

     she could not put on as much as a single string of pearls, without having to shoot up into the clouds to hear what the very highest one meant

2. (dialectal, about grammatically feminine animals or objects) it, she
   • 1899, Sfinx, Vi og Voreses, page 45:

     hos Hansens laa dem te klokka var ni, og 10 var a mange ganger ogsaa

     at Hansen's they laid until nine o'clock, and 10 she was many times too

   • 1954, Agnar Mykle, Lasso rundt fru Luna, page 476:

     hvor ligger a [duskeluen] henne?

     where is the hat?

   hvor er a katta di?

   where is your cat?

   Synonym: hun

3. (dialectal, used enclitically) her; object form of hun (=she)

   hva gjorde du med a?

   what did you do to her?

   • 1847–1868, Halfdan Kjerulf, Av hans efterladte papirer, page 245:

     jeg [skrev] klaverstykker … en lille scherzo med nordisk motiv … «gjenta» og «Jørgen Matros», som gjør kur til ’a og «Ola Spelman» som hun foretrækker

     I [wrote] piano pieces… a small scherzo with a Nordic motif… «gjenta» and «Jørgen Matros», which makes cure for her and «Ola Spelman» which she prefers

   • 1875, Alexander Erbe, Fra skjærgaarden, page 23:

     [klokkeren] skulle da koste paa a amen

     [the clockmaker] would then cost her amen

   • 1921, Sigrid Undset, Samlede romaner og fortællinger fra nutiden I, page 6:

     jeg kan da gjerne skjære litt mat til a

     I could happily cut some food for her

   • 1931, Aksel Sandemose, En sjømann går i land, page 19:

     han stakk henne med kniven, riktig kylt’n midt i magan på a

     he stabbed her with the knife, really threw in the middle of her stomach

   • 2010, Helene Guåker, Kjør!:

     flere enn deg i hvert fall, di lørje, svarte jeg og så a midt i aua

     more than you at least, you skank, I answered and looked her in the eye

4. (dialectal, about grammatically feminine animals or objects) it, her

   hvis katta stikker av, må du fange a!

   if the cat runs away, you need to catch her!

   • 1895, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Over Ævne II, page 136:

     naar kjærka ikke kan holde arbejderne i ave [age], aa faen skal vi saa me’a

     when the church can not keep the workers in duty, what the hell do we do with her then

   Synonym: henne

5. (dialectal, used proclitically with a woman's name or female relation) she, her
   • 1921, Sigrid Undset, Samlede romaner og fortællinger fra nutiden V, page 96:

     ta a Guldborg

     consider Guldborg

   • 1921, Sigrid Undset, Samlede romaner og fortællinger fra nutiden V, page 64:

     har du glemt a mamma

     did you forget about mom

   • 2015, Rudolf Nilsen, Samlede dikt, page 88:

     a Paula kom plystrende hjem

     Paula came home whistling

   • 2015 March 12, Gerd Nyland, “Fire år uten radio”, in Oppland Arbeiderblad‎^[12], archived from the original on 2023-01-28:

     a tante Karen, mor hennes Reidun, hadde ordne med sengeplasser i stua, Booken på en divan og a Rita på flatseng på golvet

     aunt Karen, her mother Reidun, had arranged beds in the living room, Booken on a daybed and Rita on a flat bed on the floor

Etymology 8

From Danish ah (“oh”), likely from German ach (“oh”