a/languages M to Z

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

Languages (196)

Abau • Afar • Akawaio • Albanian • Ama • Anguthimri • Aragonese • Asturian • Azerbaijani • Bambara • Basque • Bavarian • Belizean Creole • Big Nambas • Breton • Bube • Cameroon Pidgin • Catalan • Central Mazahua • Chayuco Mixtec • Chibcha • Chichewa • Choctaw • Chuukese • Cimbrian • Coatepec Nahuatl • Cora • Cornish • Corsican • Czech • Dakota • Dalmatian • Danish • Dutch • Edo • Egyptian • Emilian • Esperanto • Estonian • Fala • Faroese • Finnish • Franco-Provençal • French • Fula • Galician • German • Gilbertese • Gothic • Grass Koiari • Gun • Haitian Creole • Hawaiian • Hokkien • Hungarian • Icelandic • Ido • Igbo • Indo-Portuguese • Indonesian • Ingrian • Interlingua • Inupiaq • Irish • Isoko • Istriot • Italian • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Jersey Dutch • Kabuverdianu • Kabyle • Kalasha • Kankanaey • Kapampangan • Kari'na • Kashubian • Kayan • K'iche' • Koitabu • Krisa • Ladin • Ladino • Latgalian • Latin • Latvian • Laz • Ligurian • Livonian • Louisiana Creole • Lower Sorbian • Lushootseed

Malay • Maltese • Mandarin • Mandinka • Maori • Mezquital Otomi • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle French • Middle Irish • Middle Scots • Middle Welsh • Mizo • Mòcheno • Mopan Maya • Mountain Koiari • Murui Huitoto • Mbya Guarani • Nauruan • Navajo • Neapolitan • Nheengatu • Nias • Norman • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nupe • Nǀuu • Occitan • Old Czech • Old Danish • Old Dutch • Old English • Old French • Old Frisian • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old Irish • Old Polish • Old Spanish • Old Swedish • Old Tupi • Omaha-Ponca • Ometepec Nahuatl • Oromo • Palauan • Papiamentu • Paraguayan Guarani • Pennsylvania German • Polish • Portuguese • Rapa Nui • Rawang • Romagnol • Romani • Romanian • Sardinian • Sassarese • Satawalese • Scots • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Sicilian • Silesian • Skolt Sami • Slovak • Slovene • Slovincian • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Sumerian • Swahili • Swedish • Tagalog • Tarantino • Tarifit • Tày • Tenharim • Tok Pisin • Tokelauan • Tooro • Tumbuka • Turkish • Turkmen • Tyap • Upper Sorbian • Urubú-Kaapor • Vietnamese • Volapük • Votic • Walloon • Welsh • West Makian • Yao • Yele • Yola • Yoruba • Yucatec Maya • Zazaki • Zhuang • Zou • Zulu

The entries for a are spread across multiple pages due to their length.

Malay

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): [e]
- Audio (Malaysia): (file)
(interjection): IPA^(key): [a]
- Audio (Malaysia): (file)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Interjection

a (Jawi spelling ا)

Used to show excitement or to show agreement.
A, macam itulah sepatutnya kaujawab!
Yes, that's how you should answer!
Used to express hesitation; er, uh.
Synonym: er

Dia ni, a, salah seorang Perdana Menteri Britain dulu.
This guy is, er, one of Britain's Prime Ministers in the past.

Maltese

Pronunciation

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Mandarin

Romanization

a (a⁵ / a⁰, Zhuyin ㄚ)

Hanyu Pinyin reading of 呵
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啊
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 阿

a

nonstandard spelling of ā
nonstandard spelling of á
nonstandard spelling of ǎ
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

he, him (personal pronoun)
A m busa ― He/she struck me.

Y a busa ― They struck him/her.
she, her (personal pronoun)
it (personal pronoun)

Maori

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, [ɐ]

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/, [ˈɐ]

Particle

a

of
(determinative particle for names)
(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

expresses satisfaction, pity, fright, or admiration

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

ʼa (obsolete)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/, /ǎ/

Verb

a

(transitive) wake, awaken

Etymology 3

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

Alternative forms

ʼá (obsolete)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /á/, /ǎ/

Noun

a

flea

Derived terms

References

Andrews, Enriqueta (1950), Vocabulario otomí de Tasquillo, Hidalgo‎^[1] (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)‎^[2] (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

(rare) river, stream, water

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Dutch: a, Aa

Middle English

Etymology 1

Article

a

alternative form of an (mainly preconsonantal)

Etymology 2

Pronoun

a

(Late Middle English) alternative form of I (“I”)

Etymology 3

Pronoun

a

alternative form of heo (“she”)

Etymology 4

Pronoun

a

alternative form of he (“he”)

Etymology 5

Pronoun

a

alternative form of he (“they”)

Etymology 6

Numeral

a

(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

to; towards

Etymology 2

From Old French, from Latin habet.

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Middle Irish

Preposition

a (triggers eclipsis)

alternative form of i (“in”)

Usage notes

See the Old Irish entry for all other etymologies and senses of a in Middle Irish.

Middle Scots

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Middle Scots alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle English a

Article

a

a, an (indefinite article)
With numbers (other than score, hundred, etc)

Usage notes

This form can be used before consonant and vowels, compare an which also can be used before vowels (and h) but also before consonants.

Etymology 3

Inherited from Middle English a

Alternative forms

aa

Interjection

a

ah!

Etymology 4

Inherited from Northern Middle English a.

Numeral

a

one

Alternative forms

ae, ea

Etymology 5

Inherited from Middle English a

Pronoun

a

alternative form of I (“first-person singular pronoun”)

Middle Welsh

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

O (vocative particle)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Pronoun

a (triggers lenition)

who, which, that

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

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)

used to introduce a direct question
whether, used to introduce an indirect question

Etymology 4

Reduction of o (“from”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

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)

and

Etymology 6

Alternative forms

ac

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a (triggers aspiration)

with

Etymology 7

From Proto-Celtic *ageti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Alternative forms

aa

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of mynet

Mutation

Mutated forms of a
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
a	unchanged	unchanged	ha

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Middle Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Mizo

Etymology

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

Pronoun

a (plural an)

he, she, it; his, her, its (3rd-person singular clitic pronoun)

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)

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

the

References

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

Mountain Koiari

Pronoun

a

you (singular)

References

Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Murui Huitoto

Adverb

a

superseded spelling of aa

References

Shirley Burtch (1983), Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[3] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 19

Mbya Guarani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]

Letter

a

The first letter of the Mbya Guarani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

Robert A. Dooley (August 2016), “a”, in Léxico guarani, dialeto mbyá: guarani-português (overall work in Portuguese), Anápolis: SIL Brasil, page 2

Nauruan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Pronoun

a

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)

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˥˥/

Neapolitan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

From Latin de ab.

Preposition

a

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

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

in (locative: staying in a place of relative width)
to (locative: moving towards a place of relative width)
to (dative)

Nheengatu

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a], (unstressed, word final) [ɐ]

Letter

a

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

Nias

Etymology

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

Verb

a (imperfective manga)

(transitive) to eat

References

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

Norman

Verb

a

(Guernsey) third-person singular present indicative of aver

North Frisian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a] (short vowel)
IPA^(key): [aː], (Sylt) [oː] (long vowel, spelt aa)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

A letter of the North Frisian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Sylt Frisian ⟨aa⟩ was originally [ɔː], but has since merged with ⟨oo⟩. The letter ⟨ā⟩ is used for [aː]. The diphthongs ⟨ai, ia⟩ are both monophthongized to [ɛː] when followed by ⟨r⟩.
In Föhr-Amrum Frisian, ⟨ai⟩ represents a lengthened diphthong [aːɪ̯] as if written ⟨*aai⟩. The short equivalent is ⟨ei⟩.

Etymology 2

Article

a

(Föhr-Amrum) the (masculine and all-gender plural definite article, reduced form)
Coordinate terms: (full forms) de, dön

Usage notes

For the alternative use of the form a with certain original feminines, see at.

Alternative forms

e (Mooring)

Norwegian Bokmål

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/, (before u or in some Enɡlish loan words) [æ]
Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: a
Homophones: A, à, A-, a-, ah

Letter

a (uppercase A)

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

Noun

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

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
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
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
(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
(physics) symbol for ampere
(physics) symbol for nucleon number
(horology) symbol for avance
symbol for anno
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

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

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of ar (“are”).

Symbol

a

an are, a unit of area one hundredth of a hectare; ares
Synonym: ar

Etymology 4

From French à (“to, on, in”).

Preposition

a

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

(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

(used in Italian expressions, before a consonant) from, of, with
a battuta, a cappella, a due, a dato, a konto
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

(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
(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
(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
(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
(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^[4], archived from the original on 28 January 2023:
  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”), from Middle High German ach, from Old High German ah. Also see ah and akk.

Interjection

a

expression of surprise or horror
a, for noe tøv!
oh, such nonsense!
- 1888, Herman Colditz, Kjærka, et Atélierinteriør:
  a, det er bare noe drit til han terracottaen
  oh, that is just some crap for that terracotta guy
expression of admiration or happiness
a, det gjorde godt!
oh, that felt good!
- 1897, Fridtjof Nansen, Fram over Polhavet I, page 345:
  a, kunde vi bare gi «Fram» slige vinger
  oh, if only we could give "Fram" wings like that
used with the words yes and no to give a sense of impatience or rejection
a jo, men hold nå fred!
oh yes, but keep quiet now
- 1874, Henrik Ibsen, Fru Inger til Østråt, page 99:
  a nej, det kan være det samme
  oh no, it does not matter
- 1874–1878, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Brytnings-år I, page 25:
  a ja, lad Schirmer tegne staburet
  oh yes, let Schirmer draw the storehouse
- 1988, Arild Nyquist, Giacomettis forunderlige reise:
  verden er vakker, bestemor. Selv når det regner og blåser. A ja da.
  the world is beautiful, grandma. Even when it's raining and windy. Oh yes.

Etymology 9

Mostly likely from Norwegian ad (“against, on”), from Danish ad (“by, at”), from Old Danish at, from Old Norse at (“at, to”), from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, toward, to”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“to, at”).

Interjection

a

expression of anger or sorrow, especially with a personal pronoun
uff a meg!
oh, my!

huff a meg!
oh, no!

Alternative forms

å

References

“a” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
“a” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
“a” in Store norske leksikon
a on the Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nb

Anagrams

A, A-, a-

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑː/

Letter

a (lowercase, uppercase A)

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

Noun

a m (definite singular a-en, indefinite plural a-ar, definite plural a-ane)

the letter a

Etymology 2

Interjection

a

ah!
Synonyms: ah, å

Etymology 3

From Old Norse af, from Proto-Germanic *ab, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó.

Preposition

a

(dialect) alternative form of av
- c. 1700, Sigurd Kolsrud, quoting Jacob Rasch, “Eldste nynorske bibeltekst: Jacob Rasch c. 1700”, in Syn og Segn, volume 56, published 1950, page 110:
  fre a Gud okka far aa Jesu Christo den herræ.
  peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

References

“a” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
a on the Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia.Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Nupe

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/, (after /n/ or /m/) /ã/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Particle

à

not (placed at the end of a clause to negate it)
Mi de eshìgi à, mi ma de dàǹgi à. ― I don't have a dog, and I don't have a cat.

Etymology 3

Clipping of lá.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /á/

Particle

á

Marks the perfective aspect, for actions that are completed

Usage notes

á, which is derived from the verb lá (“to take”), functions like a verb so that the word order in the present perfect tense is that of a serial verb construction.

Musa shi dùkùn ― Musa bought a pot
Musa á dùkùn shi. ― Musa has bought a pot. (literally, “Musa took a pot to buy”)

Etymology 4

Clipping of gà.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Particle

à

Used to express the future tense (placed before verbs)
A à lá èbi be nakàn ― They will use a knife to cut the meat

Nǀuu

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Pronoun

a

this
Synonym: aha
you (sg.)
Synonym: gǀa

a aa a
you give this

Nǀuu personal pronouns
			Western dialect			Eastern dialect
			A-form	Simple	Click	A-form	Simple	Click
1st	singular		na	ng	nǀng	nya	ng	nǀng
	plural	inclusive	ca	i	gǀi	ca	i	gǀi
	plural	Exclusive	sa	si	/	sa	si	/
2st	Singular		a	a	gǀa	a	a	gǀa
2st	Plural		ba	u	gǀu	ba	u	gǀu
3st	singular		kua	ku	/	kua	ku	/
	singular	H-form	ha	ha	/	ha	ha	/
	plural		kina	kin	/	kina	kin	/
	plural	H-form	hna	hn / hng	/	hna	hn / hng	/
Indefinite			ǂa	ǂi	/	ǂa	ǂi	/

Click form: The form used in the question starts with the first or second personal pronouns. It can also be used before the linker(ng).
A-form: The form used in declarative sentence.
H-form: The form often used in possessors, especially stories.

Determiner

a

your (sg.)
A ka ǃu ke ǀxaquka
your shoes are beautiful
this

References

Sands, Bonny & Jones, Kerry & Esau, Katrina & Collins, Chris & Witzlack-Makarevich, Alena & Job, Sylvanus & Miller, Amanda & Steyn, Betta & Zaanen, Menno & Namaseb, Levi & Berg, Dietloff & Mantzel, Dotty & Damarah, Willem & Snyman, Claudia & Wyk, David & Brugman, Johanna & Exter, Mats & Vaalbooi, Antjie & Westhuizen, Mietjie. (2022). Nǀuuki Namagowab Afrikaans English ǂXoakiǂxanisi/Mîdi di ǂKhanis/Woordeboek/Dictionary.
Shah, Sheena, and Matthias Brenzinger. Ouma Geelmeid ke kx’u ǁxaǁxa Nǀuu. Cape Town: CALDi, University of Cape Town. 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17432.
Collins, C., & Namaseb, L. (2011). A Grammatical Sketch of N|uuki with Stories. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
"IOL Castletown 2022 - Solution". IOL 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
Güldemann, Tom. “"Back to normal?" - ditransitives in the Tuu family.” (2007).

Occitan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/
Audio (Béarn): (file)

Etymology 1

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

to
at

Derived terms

al, als

Etymology 2

Noun

a f (plural as)

a (the letter a)

Etymology 3

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of aver

Old Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈa/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈa/

Etymology 1

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

Interjection

a

ah!

Descendants

Czech: a

Etymology 2

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

Particle

a

Connective, contrasitve particle; and
then, as, if
yes, of course

Conjunction

a

and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)
and, but, whereas (used contrastively)

Descendants

Czech: a

References

Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “a”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old Danish

Alternative forms

aa (Jutlandic)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

Noun

ā (genitive ār, plural ār)

(Scania) stream, river

Descendants

Danish: å

Etymology 2

From Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

Preposition

ā

(Scania) on, in, at

Descendants

Danish: på

Etymology 3

Verb

ā

first/third-person singular present indicative of ēgha

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *ahu.

Noun

ā f

river, stream, water

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

aha

Descendants

Middle Dutch: â
- Dutch: a, Aa

Old English

Alternative forms

āwa, āwo, ō

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *aiw, from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“eternity, age”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑː/

Adverb

ā

ever, always
- Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
  Ne widcweðe iċ, Drihten, tō deorfenne gȳt, ġif iċ nȳdbehefe eom gȳt ðīnum folce; ne iċ ne belādiġe gȳt mē for ylde: bēo ðīn willa ā, weroda Drihten!
  I do not refuse, O Lord, to yet labor, if I am needed by your people; nor will I yet excuse myself on account of my age: let your will be forever, Lord of Hosts!

References

Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “Á”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Etymology 2

Noun

ā f

alternative form of ǣ: law

References

Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “á”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Preposition

a

alternative form of on: to, in

References

Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “a”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Old French a

From Latin ad.

Alternative forms

ad
à (not in manuscripts; occasionally used by scholars to differentiate between the preposition and the verb form)

Preposition

a

to
towards
belonging to
fil a putain ― son of a whore

Derived terms

Descendants

French: à (see there for further descendants)
French: à
- → Danish: à
- → Dutch: à
- → German: à
- → Hungarian: à
- → Norwegian Bokmål: à, a
- → Swedish: à

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

ad

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Etymology 4

From Latin ab.

Adverb

a

by, by means of

Old Frisian

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *ahu, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water”).

Alternative forms

ē

Noun

ā f

water

Descendants

North Frisian: ia
Saterland Frisian: Äi
West Frisian: ie

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *auwju, from Proto-Germanic *awjō, originally a substantive adjective related to *ahwō (“river”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂.

Noun

ā f

island

Descendants

Saterland Frisian: Äi

Etymology 3

Adverb

ā

in any case, under all circumstances
every time, whenever

Etymology 4

Preposition

a

in, to, at

Derived terms

thera

Old Galician-Portuguese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin ad (“toward, to”).

Preposition

a

to; towards
- a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 14 (facsimile):
  
  fugiu con el a Egipto. terra de Reẏ faraon.
  ran away with him to Egypt. land of King pharaoh.

Descendants

Fala: a
Galician: a
Portuguese: a
- Indo-Portuguese: a
- Papiamentu: a

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin illa f (“that”).

Article

a f

feminine singular of o
- a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de Toledo, cantiga 5 (facsimile):
  
  Eſta ·xviiii· é como ſṫa maria aiudou · á emperadriꝣ de roma · a ſofrer as grãdes coitaſ per que paſſou.
  This 19th is (about) how Holy Mary helped · the empress of Rome · suffer through the great pains she underwent.

Descendants

Fala: a
Galician: a
Portuguese: a

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *sosim (“this”).

Alternative forms

(relative pronoun): an

Article

a

nominative/accusative singular neuter of in
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Pronoun

a (triggers eclipsis, takes a leniting relative clause using a deuterotonic or absolute verb form)

that which, what
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Descendants

Irish: a
Scottish Gaelic: a

Etymology 2

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

Conjunction

a (triggers eclipsis, takes a nasalizing relative clause)

when
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Celtic *esyo (m and n), *esyās (f), and *ēsom (pl), from Proto-Indo-European *ésyo, genitive singular of *ís and *íd; compare Welsh ei (“his, her, its”), eu (“their”); Old High German iro (“their”); and Sanskrit अस्य (asyá, “his, its”), अस्यास् (asyā́s, “her”), and एषाम् (eṣā́m, “their”).

Alternative forms

á, ha

Determiner

a (predicative aí or áe) (triggers lenition in the masculine and neuter singular, an unwritten prothetic /h/ before a vowel in the feminine singular, and eclipsis in the plural)

his, its
her, its
their
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Descendants

Irish: a (“his, her, its, their”)
Scottish Gaelic: a (“his, her, its”); an (“their”)

Etymology 4

From Proto-Celtic *ā (compare Welsh a), from Proto-Indo-European *ō (compare Ancient Greek ὦ (ô), Latin ō).

Alternative forms

á

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

O (vocative particle)
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Descendants

Irish: a
Scottish Gaelic: a

Etymology 5

Particle

a (triggers an unwritten prothetic /h/ before a vowel)

introduces a numeral
a deich ― ten

Descendants

Irish: a
Scottish Gaelic: a

Etymology 6

From Proto-Celtic *exs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs.

Alternative forms

á

Preposition

a (combined with plural article asnaib, combined with 1st singular possessive determiner asmo, combined with 3rd person possessive determiner assa)

out of
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Inflection

Inflection of a
	Person:		normal	emphatic
singular	first		asum
	second		essiut
	third m or n	dative	as(s), es
	third m or n	accusative
	third f	dative	e(i)ssi, esse	essisi
	third f	accusative

plural	first
	second
	third	dative	es(s)ib, eissib
	third	accusative

Related terms

ess-

Descendants

Irish: as
Manx: ass
Scottish Gaelic: à

Old Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /a/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /a/

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *a

Old Polish a

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a. First attested in the first half of 14th century.

Interjection

a

ah! (used when the speaker has remembered or noticed something)

Descendants

Polish: a
Silesian: a

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)ōd

Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō

Proto-Slavic *a

Old Polish a

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

First attested in the first half of 14th century.

Conjunction

a

and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)
and, but, whereas (used contrastively)
and then (used to say an event will occur if some requirement is fulfilled)
emphasizes a question
introduces a new sentences

Related terms

conjunctions

Descendants

Polish: a
Silesian: a

References

Boryś, Wiesław (2005), “a”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
Mańczak, Witold (2017), “a”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “a”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965), “a”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
K. Nitsch, editor (1953), “a”, in Słownik staropolski (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, page 1
B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “a”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “a, ha”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “a”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Wanda Decyk-Zięba; Krystyna Długosz-Kurczabowa; Stanisław Dubisz; Zygmunt Gałecki; Justyna Garczyńska; Halina Karaś; Alina Kępińska; Anna Pasoń; Izabela Stąpor; Barbara Taras; Izabela Winiarska-Górska (2008), “a”, in Wanda Decyk-Zięba, Stanisław Dubisz, editors, Glosariusz staropolski - dydaktyczny słownik etymologiczny [Old Polish Glossary - Didactic Etymological Dictionary] (in Polish), Warszawa: Wydział Polonistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, →ISBN, page 1

Old Spanish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin ad (“to”).

Preposition

a

To; unto; indicates an indirect object; sometimes untranslated.
- c. 1200, Almeric, Fazienda de Ultramar, page f. 1r.:
  [R]emont por la gracia de dios. arçobispo de Toledo. a don almeric. arçidiano de antiochia con grant amor ſalut ⁊ amidtad.
  […]
  a qui reſpódio el arcidiano El mẏo ſénor dó remont. arçobispo de Toledo. El to clerigo almerich. aRçidiano de antiochẏa. réde gŕas adios & atẏ.
  Remont, by the Grace of God archbishop of Toledo, to master Almerich, archdeacon of Antioch, with great love, haleness and goodwill.
  […]
  To this the archdeacon responded thus, “My lord, master Remont, archbishop of Toledo, your cleric Almerich, archdeacon of Antioch, gives thanks to God and to you”.
- c. 1250, Alfonso X of Castile, Lapidario, f. 118v:
  Et dixieron los ſabios en el libro de las piedras que la uerde atal uirtut. que quien la engaſtonare en ſortija. la traxiere conſigo. nõ aura la enfermedat a que dizen ydropiſia.
  And in the Book of Stones the wise men claimed that the green stone possesses such virtue that he who mounts it on a ring and has it with him will not suffer from the illness they call dropsy.

Alternative forms

á, à

Descendants

Ladino: a, אה
Spanish: a

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of aver

Etymology 3

Onomatopoeic

Interjection

a

ah! Indicates admiration, surprise, or sorrow.

References

Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946), “a”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume I, Chapel Hill, page 1

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

ᛆ

Etymology

From Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/

Noun

ā f

creek, river

Declension

Declension of *ā (ō-stem)*
	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ā	āin	ā(r)	āna(r)
accusative	ā	āna	ā(r)	āna(r)
dative	ā	ānni	ām	āmin, -men
genitive	ā(r)	ārinnar	ā	ānna

Descendants

Swedish: å

References

å in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Old Tupi

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a], (unstressed, word final) [ɐ]

Letter

a

The first letter of the Old Tupi alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Omaha-Ponca

Noun

a

arm

References

Omaha Ponca digital dictionary

Ometepec Nahuatl

Noun

a

water

Oromo

Noun

a (plural aa)

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

Palauan

Etymology 1

From Pre-Palauan *a, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *a.

Article

a

a, the

Etymology 2

From Pre-Palauan *a, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *a, from Proto-Austronesian *a.

Conjunction

a

linking particle

Papiamentu

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case upper case, A)

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

Etymology 2

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

Particle

a

Indicates the past tense.
Mi a papia kuné. ― I talked to him.

Etymology 3

From Portuguese a.

Preposition

a

to
by
at

Usage notes

Only used in set expressions from Spanish.

Paraguayan Guarani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]

Letter

a

The first letter of the Paraguayan Guarani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pennsylvania German

Interjection

a

alternative spelling of ah (“ah, oh”)

References

Beam, C. R., Brown, J. R., & Trout, J. L. (2004). The Comprehensive Pennsylvania German Dictionary.

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/

(Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈa/
(Masovia):
- (Ostróda) IPA^(key): [ˈa]
- (Warmia) IPA^(key): [ˈa]
- (Masuria) IPA^(key): [ˈa]

Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)
Audio 3: (file)
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a
Homophones: a-, -a

Etymology 1

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

Letter

a (lowercase, uppercase A)

The first letter of the Polish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
małe a ― a minuscule/small/little a

duże a ― a capital/big/large a

Etymology 2

First attested in 1551.^[1] (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

a n (indeclinable)

a, near-open central vowel
samogłoska a ― the vowel a

powiedzieć a ― to say a
(music) a (note)
zagrać a ― to play an a

zaśpiewać a ― to sing an a

Related terms

akanie

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of ar.

Noun

a m inan

(metrology) abbreviation of ar

Etymology 4

Inherited from Old Polish a.

Conjunction

a

and, but, whereas (used contrastively)
A ty? ― And you?

Wolisz tabletki, a ja wolę zastrzyki. ― You prefer pills whereas I prefer injections.
and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)
walka między dobrem a złem ― battle between good and evil
and then (used to say an event will occur if some requirement is fulfilled)
Poszukasz, a znajdziesz. ― If you seek it, then you shall find it.
and (used after a verb to indicate it will last a long time)
pracować a pracować ― to work and work (for a long time)
such and such (used when the speaker does not want to be more specific, when repeating an element)
is (used to show some connection between two objects which are very different from each other)
what about
Ja jestem gotowy, a ty? ― I'm ready, what about you?

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 5

Inherited from Old Polish a.

Interjection

a

ah! (used when the speaker has remembered or noticed something)

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), a is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 555 times in scientific texts, 307 times in news, 507 times in essays, 703 times in fiction, and 1175 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 3226 times, making it the 13th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[2]

References

^ Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “a”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
^ Ida Kurcz (1990), “a”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków; Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 1

Portuguese

Pronunciation

letter

IPA^(key): /a/
Homophone: à (Brazil)
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: a

article, pronoun

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ/
(Brazil) IPA^(key): /a/
Audio (Brazil): (file)
Audio (Portugal): (file)
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, called á and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a m (plural as)

alternative spelling of á

Related terms

with diacritics: ã, â, à, á

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese á, from Vulgar Latin *la (compare Spanish, Catalan, Italian, and French la), from Late Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille (“the”, “that”).

Article

a

feminine singular of o
- 2005, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] (Harry Potter; 6), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 219:
  Então, como foi a última festinha de Slughorn?
  So, how was the last Slughorn's little party?
- 2007, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] (Harry Potter; 7), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 147:
  Entregou a foto rasgada, [...]
  He handed over the torn photograph, [...]

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:o.

Pronoun

a f (third-person singular)

her, it (as a direct object; as an indirect object, see lhe; after prepositions, see ela)
Encontrei-a na rua. ― I met her/it on the street.

Usage notes

Becomes -la after verb forms ending in -r, -s, or -z, the pronouns nos (“us”) and vos (“plural you”), and the adverb eis (“here is; behold”); the final letter causing the change disappears.
After ver (“to see”): Posso vê-la? — “May I see her/it?”

After pôs (“he/she/it put”): Ele pô-la ali. — “He put her/it there.”

After fiz (“I made; I did”): Fi-la ficar contente. — “I made her/it become happy.”

After nos (“us”): Ela deu-no-la relutantemente. — “She gave her/it to us reluctantly.”

After eis (“here is; behold”): Ei-la! — “Behold her/it!”
Becomes -na after a nasal vowel or diphthong: -ão, -am [ɐ̃w̃], -õe [õj̃], -em, -êm [ẽj̃].
Detêm-na como prisioneira. — “They detain her/it as a prisoner.”
In informal Brazilian Portuguese, the nominative form ela (“she”) is more commonly used.
Eu a vi. → Eu vi ela.: “I saw her/it.”

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Etymology 3

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

Preposition

a

to, introduces the indirect object
Synonym: para

Dê-o a mim. ― Give it to me.

Meu coração pertence a você. ― My heart belongs to you.
- 2005, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] (Harry Potter; 6), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 143:
  Deixe-me mostrar a você...
  Let me show it to you...
- 2007, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] (Harry Potter; 7), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 516:
  Não é bonito dizer isso a uma pessoa.
  It's not nice to say that to a person.
to; towards, indicates destination
Synonyms: para, até

Vamos a Paris! ― Let’s go to Paris!
away, indicates a physical distance
A vila fica a onze milhas ― The village is eleven miles away.

Comunicação à distância. ― Communication at a distance.
with; by means of, using as an instrument or means
Synonyms: com, por meio de

Mataram o cão a pauladas. ― They bludgeoned the dog to death. (literally, “they killed the dog with bludgeonings”)

A cavalo. ― On horseback.

Livro escrito a lápis. ― A book written with a pencil.
with; on, using as a medium or fuel
Quadro pintado a óleo. ― A painting painted with oil.

Fornalha a carvão. ― Coal furnace.
by, using the specified measurement; in the specified quantity
É mais barato comprar comida ao quilo. ― It is cheaper to by food by the kilogram.

Os fracassos ocorrem às dezenas. ― Failures occur by the dozen.
(preceded and followed by the same word) by, indicates a steady progression
Synonym: por

Calma lá. Resolva o problema passo a passo. ― Easy there. Solve the problem step by step.
in the style or manner of; a la
Synonym: ao modo de

Ele puxou o temperamento ao pai. ― He inherited his temperament from his father.

Camarão à grega. ― Greek-style shrimp.
(limited use, see usage notes) at, during the specified period
Synonyms: em, de

Dormimos à noite. ― We sleep at night.

O filme começa às duas horas. ― The film starts at two o’clock.
(rare except in set terms) at; in, indicates a location or position
Synonym: em

Isto fica à frente do altar. ― This stays in front of the altar.
indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis
A mim ele não engana. ― He doesn’t deceive me. (literally, “To me he doesn’t deceive.”)
(Portugal or literary, followed by a verb in the infinitive form) forms the present participle
Estou a preparar a canja. ― I am preparing the chicken soup.
(followed by an infinitive or present passive) to, forms the future participle
Synonyms: para, por

Um trabalho a ser feito. ― A job to be done.

Nada a fazer. ― Nothing to be done.

Usage notes

When followed by a definite article, a is combined with the article to give the following combined forms:

a + o → ao
a + os → aos
a + a → à
a + as → às

In the sense of to (introducing the indirect object) usage with a personal pronoun can be replaced with an indirect pronoun (me, nos, te, vos, lhe, lhes):

Deram um livro a ele. → Deram-lhe um livro.

In the sense of at (during the specified period) it can be used with:

noite (“night”)
noitinha (“evening”)
tarde (“afternoon”)
meio-dia (“noon”)
meia-noite (“midnight”)
specific hours

Dia (“day”), manhã (“morning”), madrugada (“early morning”) use de (“of”) instead, which can optionally be used for tarde, noitinha and noite as well. Names of months, days of the month and of the week use em (“in”).

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Descendants

Indo-Portuguese: a
Papiamentu: a

Etymology 4

Interjection

a

(text messaging) alternative spelling of ah
A, tudo bem então.
Oh, all right then.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Etymology 5

From homophone há.

Verb

a

misspelling of há

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Etymology 6

From homophone à.

Contraction

a

misspelling of à

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

Rapa Nui

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *a. Cognates include Maori a and Tongan ʻa.

Article

a

the personal article, used before proper nouns

Etymology 2

From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *a. Cognates include Hawaiian ā and Maori ā.

Preposition

a

along, towards

References

Paulus Kieviet (2017), A grammar of Rapa Nui‎^[5], Berlin: Language Science Press, →ISBN, page 102

Rawang

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Suffix

a

verbal suffix for marking benefactive of the V.

Pronoun

a (upper case A)

proximate demonstrative pronoun
Alòng èlámò.
Dry this one.

Ló webǿng nàí baqòé, ngàí abǿng bakngò lé" wa.
Well, you carry that side, I will carry this side.

A wedø nø bvttut mvjòǃ
Oh, it is absolutely wrong to do (it) that way.

Romagnol

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

à

Pronunciation

(Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈaɐ̯]

(Ville Unite):

(San Zaccaria): IPA^(key): [ˈaɐ]

Verb

a

third-person singular/plural present indicative of avér (“to have”)

Etymology 2

From Latin ego.

Pronoun

a (plural a)

(Ville Unite) I
(Ville Unite) plural of a (“we”)
(Ville Unite) plural of te (“you”)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Latin ad, a (“to, toward”).

Preposition

a

to; at

Romani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Etymology 2

Interjection

a

oh, ah

References

Yūsuke Sumi (2018), “a”, in ニューエクスプレス　ロマ（ジプシー）語 [New Express Romani (Gypsy)] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Hakusuisha, →ISBN, page 134

Romanian

Alternative forms

а (a) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Etymology 1

Article

a

feminine singular of al (“of”, possessive article)

Etymology 2

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

Preposition

a

(used with infinitive verbs) the infinitive marker: to
a fi ― to be
(obsolete) at (now almost completely replaced by la)
(used only with a few perception verbs like suna, mirosi, arăta) like, of

Etymology 3

From Proto-Romanian, from a late Vulgar Latin *ae(t), from Latin habet.^[1]

Verb

(el/ea) a (modal auxiliary, third-person singular form of avea, used with past participles to form perfect compus tenses)

modal auxiliary
(he/she) has...
A văzut acest film?
Has he/she seen this film?

Usage notes

a is used instead of are to form the third-person singular perfect compus.

References

“a”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

^ http://www.lingv.ro/RRL%201-2%202009%20Nevaci,%20Todi.pdf

Sardinian

Etymology 1

From Latin ac, alternative form of atque (“and, and also; as, then”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/ (triggers final cogemination (syntactic gemination of the initial consonant of the following word) in senses 1 and 2)

Conjunction

a

(Nuorese) only used in che a (“like, as”)
(Campidanese) only used in tottu a and a tottu
used in the words for the numbers 17 and 19
1. (Logudorese) only used in degasette (“seventeen”)
2. (Campidanese) only used in dexasetti (“seventeen”) and degannoi (“nineteen”)
3. (Nuorese) only used in decassette (“seventeen”) and decannobe (“nineteen”)

Etymology 2

From Latin ad from Proto-Italic *ad, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“near, at”).

Alternative forms

ad (used before vowel-initial words)
an (Nuorese, before words starting with d-)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Logudorese, Nuorese) /a/ (triggers final cogemination (syntactic gemination of the initial consonant of the following word))
IPA^(key): (Campidanese) /a/ (often does not trigger final cogemination)

Preposition

a

indicates the indirect object; to
indicates the place; in, to
denotes the manner; with
a pe' (Logudorese) ― on foot

Etymology 3

From Latin aut (“or”), from Proto-Italic *auti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewti (“on the other hand”), derived from *h₂ew (“away from, off”). Doublet of o.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/ (triggers final cogemination (syntactic gemination of the initial consonant of the following word))

Conjunction

a

(central Sardinia) Used to introduce a question or an exhortation
a benis? ― are you coming?

a nos pasamos! ― Let's rest!

Usage notes

Used in expressions such as a chie ... a chie ... (Logudorese, Nuorese) and a chini ... a chini ... (Campidanese)
a chie ridet, a chie pranghet (Nuorese) ― one laughs, the other one cries (literally, “[there's] who laughs, [there's] who cries”)
- In these expressions, e can be used instead of a, though it's not common.

Derived terms

annò

References

Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964), “a¹”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg
Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964), “a²”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg
Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964), “a³”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg

Sassarese

Alternative forms

ad (before a vowel)

Etymology

From Latin ad, from Proto-Italic *ad, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action; to, sometimes untranslated
Used to indicate destination; to
Used to indicate purpose; to
Used with adverbs expressing position or proximity; to, sometimes untranslated
Used to indicate a moment in time; at
Used to indicate a period of time; in
in, about, with regard to
Used to indicate a comparison; to
Denotes the direct object
Indicates manner.
Indicates shape.
Used to introduce a question.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

References

Rubattu, Antoninu (2006), Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Satawalese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Pronoun

a (third-person singular)

References

Kevin M. Roddy (2007), "A Sketch Grammar Of Satawalese, The Language Of Satawal Island, Yap State, Micronesia"

Scots

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Etymology 2

From Middle English a, from Old English ān (“one; a; lone; sole”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ə]

Article

a

a, an (indefinite article)

Usage notes

Unlike English, this form can be used before both consonant and vowel sounds. However, this is not often the case in written Scots, probably due to the influence of English. ^[1]

Synonyms

(before a vowel): an

References

^ https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/a_indef_art

“a, indef. art.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Etymology 3

Determiner

a

alternative form of a'

Adverb

a

alternative form of a'

Noun

a (uncountable)

alternative form of a'

References

“a, adj., adv.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (etymologies 2–8) /ə/, (etymologies 1 and 9) /a/
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

Letter

a (upper case A, lower case a)

The first letter of the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, written in the Latin script. It is followed by b. Its traditional name is ailm (“elm”).

Etymology 2

From Old Irish a, from Proto-Celtic *ā. Cognates include Irish a and Welsh a.

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

Used to mark a vocative; O
Halò, a Ruairidh. ― Hello, (O) Roderick.

Etymology 3

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

Determiner

a

(triggers lenition) his, its
(triggers H-prothesis) her, its

Etymology 4

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

Pronoun

a (governs the relative form of the verb)

relative particle; who, which, that
Cuin a chluinneas tu e? ― When will you hear it? (literally, “When [is it] that you will hear it?”)

Chunnaic mi an duine a dh'fhalbh leis ― I saw the person who took it

Ciamar a tha sibh? ― How are you? (literally, “How [that] are you (pl.)?”)

Etymology 5

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

Particle

a (triggers H-prothesis)

Used before cardinal numbers not succeeded by a noun
A bheil agad a ceithir? ― Do you have four?

Etymology 6

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

Used to mark the infinitive of a verb; to
Tha mi a' dol a chadal. ― I'm going to sleep.

Etymology 7

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Preposition

a (+ dative, triggers lenition of consonants and Dh-prothesis of vowels)

Reduced form of do
Reduced form of de

Etymology 8

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

Form of an used before bheil

Usage notes

Less frequently, am may be used before bheil as well.

Etymology 9

Interjection

a!

ah!

Alternative forms

à

References

MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “a”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[6], Stirling, →ISBN
Mark, Colin (2003), The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 1
Edward Dwelly (1911), “a”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[7], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

See Translingual section.

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The 1st letter of the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet (gajica), followed by b.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *a (“and, but”).

Conjunction

a (Cyrillic spelling а)

but, and (compare ȁli)
Učio sam c(ij)elo posl(ij)epodne, a ništa nisam naučio. ― I studied for the whole afternoon, but I didn't learn anything.

A kako biste vi to napravili? ― And how would you do that?
while (on the contrary), whereas
Stolovi su crveni, a stolice su zelene. ― The tables are red, whereas the chairs are green.
(with da ne) without (usually after negative verbs)
Ne mogu se uključiti u raspravu, a da ne napravim nered. ― I cannot enter a discussion without making a mess.

Odlazi, a da nije rekao ni zbogom. ― He's leaving without even saying goodbye.
(a ȉpāk) and yet
Pravi prijatelj zna sve o tebi, a ipak te voli. ― The real friend knows everything about you, and yet he loves you.
(a kȁmoli) not to mention, let alone
U moru loših v(ij)esti teško je ostati objektivan, a kamoli optimističan. ― In the sea of bad news it's hard to stay objective, let alone optimistic.
(a + i + da) even if
A i da jesam to napravio, ne bi to učinilo neku razliku. ― Even if I did it, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
(a + i) and so, and also, and too
Sviđaju mi se plavuše, a i ja se pokojoj svidim. ― I like blondes, and some of them even like me.

Bili su žalosni, a i ja sam. ― They were sad, and so am I.

Etymology 3

Attested since the 15th century. Probably of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Slovene a, Russian а (a), Lithuanian õ, Latin ō and Ancient Greek ὦ (ô). These could all derive from Proto-Indo-European interjection *ō (“oh, ah”), but each form in individual languages could easily be an independent, expressive formation.

Interjection

a (Cyrillic spelling а)

oh, ah
a da? ― oh really?

References

“a”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
“a”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
Skok, Petar (1971), “a”, in Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika [Etymological Dictionary of the Croatian or Serbian Language] (in Serbo-Croatian), volumes 1 (A – J), Zagreb: JAZU, page 1

Sicilian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/
Audio (Eastern Sicilian): (file)

Etymology 1

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

Noun

a f

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

Etymology 2

From the lenition of la, from the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illa, from Latin illam, from illa.

Article

a f sg (m u, plural i)

the (feminine singular definite article)
Synonym: la

Usage notes

As for other Romance languages, such as Neapolitan or Portuguese, Sicilian definite articles have undergone a consonant lenition that has led to the phonetic fall of the initial l. The use of this illiquid variant has not yet made the use of liquid variants disappear, but today it is still the prevalent use in speech and writing.
In the case of the production of literary texts, such as singing or poetry, or of formal and institutional texts, resorting to "liquid articles" and "liquid articulated prepositions" confers greater euphony to the text, although it may sound a form of courtly recovery.
Illiquid definite articles can be phonetically absorbed by the following noun. I.e: l'arancina (liquid) and ârancina (illiquid).

Inflection

Sicilian articles
		singular		plural
		masculine	feminine	plural
indefinite article		nu, un, 'n	na	—
definite article	liquid	lu	la	li
definite article	illiquid	u, û	a, â	i, î

Etymology 3

From the lenition of la, from the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illa, from Latin illam, from illa.

Alternative forms

la (liquid form)

Pronoun

a f sg (plural i, masculine u)

(accusative) her
Synonym: la

A canusci? ― Do you know her?
(accusative) it, this or that thing
Synonym: la

Quannu tâ desi. ― When I gave it to you.

Usage notes

This pronoun can blend in contracted forms with other particles, especially other personal pronominal particles.

Inflection

Sicilian pronominal particles
	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	plural
mi	mû	mâ	mî
ti	tû	tâ	tî
ci	ci u	ci a	cî
ni	nû	nâ	nî
vi	vû	vâ	vî
ci	ci u	ci a	cî

Etymology 4

From the merge of Latin ad and ab.

Preposition

a

indicates the indirect object; to
Porta stu panaru â nanna.
Bring this basket to grandma.

Ê jatti ci piàciunu i pisci.
Cats like fish.
(literally, “Fish are pleasable to cats.”)

E mû dumanni a mìa?
You're asking that to me?
indicates the place, used in some contexts, in others in is used; in, to
Jemu â casa?
Can we go home?
(literally, “Can we go to the home?”)

Cchiui staju a Palermu, a Ruma cci tornu dumani.
I'm in Palermo now, I'll go back to Rome tomorrow.
denotes the manner; with
a pedi, a muzzu ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
denotes the direct object, but only if it's not preceded by articles
Chiama a Paulu.
Call Paolo.

E nun ni vidisti cchiui a nuiautri?
And you didn't see us?
the "us" here is repeated twice for emphasis

Ascutassi a mìa, signù!
Listen to me, ma'am!

Usage notes

When followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound, the form ad (also rhotacized as ar) 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 + u	ô
a + lu	a lu
a + a	â
a + la	a la
a + i	ê
a + li	a li

Etymology 5

Verb

a

misspelling of àvi

Silesian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Etymology 1

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Polish a.

Conjunction

a

and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)
Stołech ze stołka a siech wziōn za pomywanie.
I got up from the chair and got to washing up.
and, but, whereas (used contrastively)
Mama sōm przedŏwŏczka a tata sōm elektrykŏrz.
My mum is a saleswoman while my dad is an electrician.
and then (used to say an event will occur once some requirement is fulfilled)
Piyrwyj sie pōdã wartko szpluchnyć a potym zōndã do sklepu.
First I'll take a quick bath and then I'll go to the shop.
and, how come (used for clarification)
A czamu pytŏsz?
How come you ask?

Particle

a

intensifies agreement

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Polish a, from Proto-Slavic *a.

Interjection

a

interjection that expresses various emotions; ah!

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Etymology 1

See Translingual section.

Letter

a (upper case A)

The first letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Russian а (a) 'but'.^[1]

Conjunction

a

but
how, what about

References

^ Juutinen, Markus. 2022. “Russian Loanwords in Skolt Saami”. Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen 2022 (67):75–126. https://doi.org/10.33339/fuf.110737.

Slovak

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]
Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

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

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *a (“and, but”).

Conjunction

a

and

Derived terms

Slovene

Slovene Wikipedia has an article on:

a

Wikipedia ^sl

Etymology 1

From Gaj's Latin alphabet a, from Czech alphabet a, modification of capital A, itself derived from the Etruscan letter 𐌀 (a), from the Ancient Greek letter Α (A, “alpha”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓃾.

Pronunciation

(phoneme, tonal variety): IPA^(key): /áː/, /àː/, /ʌ́/, /a/, [â], [ǎ]
(phoneme, non-tonal variety): IPA^(key): /aː/, /a/
(letter name): IPA^(key): /àː/, /áː/
Audio (letter name, non-tonal): (file)
Rhymes: -aː
Homophone: a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script.
The first letter of the Slovene alphabet (Resian), written in the Latin script.
The first letter of the Slovene alphabet (Natisone Valley dialect), written in the Latin script.

Symbol

a

(SNPT) Phonetic transcription of sound [a].

Noun

ā m inan

The name of the Latin script letter A / a.
The name of the phonemes /a, aː, ʌ/.

Declension

Overall more common

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., soft o-stem
nom. sing.	ā
gen. sing.	ā-ja
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	ā	ā-ja	ā-ji
genitive (rodȋlnik)	ā-ja	ā-jev	ā-jev
dative (dajȃlnik)	ā-ju	ā-jema	ā-jem
accusative (tožȋlnik)	ā	ā-ja	ā-je
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	ā-ju	ā-jih	ā-jih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	ā-jem	ā-jema	ā-ji

More common when with a definite adjective

Masculine inan., no endings
nom. sing.	ā
gen. sing.	ā
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	ā	ā	ā
accusative	ā	ā	ā
genitive	ā	ā	ā
dative	ā	ā	ā
locative	ā	ā	ā
instrumental	ā	ā	ā

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Attested since the 18th century. Probably of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Serbo-Croatian a, Russian а (a), Lithuanian õ, Latin ō and Ancient Greek ὦ (ô). These could all derive from Proto-Indo-European interjection *ō (“oh, ah”), but each form in individual languages could easily be an independent, expressive formation.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /àː/, /áː/, /á/
Audio (non-tonal, long): (file)
Audio (non-tonal, short): (file)
Rhymes: -aː
Homophones: A, a

Interjection

a

oh
Used at the end of a sentence for confirmation, similarly to 'didn't I' in English.
Tega nisi pričakoval, a? ― You did not expect this, did you?

Synonyms

Etymology 3

From Proto-Slavic *a, from Proto-Indo-European *ō̃t, which is ablative form of Proto-Indo-European *e- 'this'. Cognates with Serbo-Croatian a, Russian а (a) and Czech a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Conjunction

a

but
Synonyms: in, pa, toda, vendar

Particle

a

contracted form of ali, particle used to form a yes- no question.
Synonyms: kaj, ali

Slovincian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Conjunction

a

and
Synonym: ë
and, but, whereas

Derived terms

conjunctions

abô

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a (“ah!”).

Interjection

a

ah!
Synonyms: ach, ach, o

References

Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “a”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[9] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 1
Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “ã”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[10] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 1

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, [a]
Audio (Latin America): (file)
Audio (Spain): (file)
Homophone: ha
Rhymes: -a

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Noun

a f (plural aes)

Name of the letter A.

Usage notes

Nominally, a always takes the usual feminine articles la and una (la a, una a). This makes it an exception to the rule according to which feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ frequently take the articles el and un otherwise reserved for masculine nouns (e.g., el alma, un alma).

Etymology 2

From Latin ad (“to”).

Alternative forms

(obsolete) á
(obsolete) à

Preposition

a

to
- 1605, Miguel de Cervantes, chapter I, in El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha [ The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha], Primera parte, Madrid: Imprenta de Juan de la Cuesta, pages 1r–1v:
  Tenia en ſu caſa vna ama que paſſaua de los quarenta: y vna ſobrina que no llegaua a los veynte, y vn moço de campo, y plaça, q̃ aſsi enſillaua el rozin, como tomaua la podadera.
  He had in his house a housekeeper who was past forty, a niece who had not reached twenty, and a lad for the field and market-place who thus saddled the hack as well as handled the billhook.
by
at
Used before words referring to people, pets, or personified objects or places that function as direct objects: personal a.
Lo busca a usted.
He is looking for you.

Usage notes

Personal a is not translated into English.

Derived terms

a la

Sranan Tongo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, [a̠], [ɑ̟]

Pronoun

a

he, she, it
- ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies]‎^[11], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, retrieved 20 March 2021:
  Odi mijn heer hoe fa joe tan gran tanki fo myn heer a komi ja fo loeke da pranasie wan trom.
  Good day, Sir, how are you? Many thanks to Sir, (that) he has come here to look at the plantation on this occasion.

Article

a (singular)

the

Usage notes

Sranan Tongo makes no difference between singular and plural forms, except for pronouns and determiners and the definite article. Common nouns referring to a collection of similar items are usually treated as singular where in English they would be grammatically plural, and so are referred to with singular pronouns and determiners and the singular definite article.

Preposition

a

at, to
Synonym: na

Particle

a

(copula) to be (used with a noun phrase as complement)
Synonym: na

Usage notes

This particle is only used when the temporal aspect is unmarked, whether for timeless facts, or for statements where time is not considered relevant.

Descendants

Aukan: a
>? Maroon Spirit Language: a, o
Saramaccan: a

Sumerian

Romanization

a

romanization of 𒀀 (a)

Swahili

Particle

-a

The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of
kitabu cha mtoto ― child's book

kiini cha yai ― egg yolk (literally, “center of egg”)
- 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[12], stanza 9:
  كِطَّمْسِكِزَ گَوُجُهَّالِ ، نُرُ نَمِيَاغَ اِتَظَلَالِ
  Kiṭamsi-kiza cha-ujuhali, nuru na-mianga itaẓalali
  Brightness and lights will overcome the shadow and darkness of ignorance

Usage notes

This particle agrees in class with the noun preceding it.
When used as an adjectival particle, the particle itself is untranslated:
- nguo za kufuliwa ― laundry, washing (literally, “laundry clothing”)
- mali ya pamoja ― communal property
When used as a genitive particle, the particle is sometimes untranslated:
- Bahari ya Hindi ― Indian Ocean

Inflection

Inflected forms of -a
Noun class	singular	plural
m-wa class_(I/II)	wa	wa
m-mi class_(III/IV)	wa	ya
ji-ma class_(V/VI)	la	ya
ki-vi class_(VII/VIII)	cha	vya
n class_(IX/X)	ya	za
u class_(XI)	wa	see n_(X)* or ma_(VI) class*
pa class_(XVI)	pa
ku class_(XVII)	kwa
mu class_(XVIII)	mwa

Swedish

Preposition

a

from (very formal, seldom used outside written formal texts.)

Usage notes

Only used in the noun a dato (from this day) and the adverb a priori (beforehand, in advance).

Letter

a (name a, uppercase form A)

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

Adverb

a (not comparable)

(colloquial) alternative form of aa

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish a. Each pronunciation has a different source:

Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by English a.
Abakada alphabet pronunciation is influenced by Baybayin character ᜀ (a).
Abecedario pronunciation is from Spanish a.

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog)
- IPA^(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔeɪ̯] (letter name, Filipino alphabet)
  - Rhymes: -ej
- IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔa] (letter name, Abakada alphabet, Abecedario)
  - Rhymes: -a
- IPA^(key): /ˈa/ [ˈa] (phoneme, stressed)
  - Rhymes: -a
- IPA^(key): /a/ [ɐ] (phoneme, unstressed)
Syllabification: a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Filipino alphabet), called ey and written in the Latin script.
The first letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Abakada alphabet), called a and written in the Latin script.
(historical) The first letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Abecedario), called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

the name of the Latin-script letter A/a, in the Abakada alphabet
Synonym: (in the Filipino alphabet) ey
(historical) the name of the Latin-script letter A/a, in the Abecedario
Synonym: (in the Filipino alphabet) ey

Related terms

Etymology 2

Compare Spanish ah, English ah, Hokkien 啊 (a).

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔa]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Interjection

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

ah: an exclamation of pity, admiration or surprise
A! Kailan namatay ang iyong ina? ― Ah! When did your mother die?
oh (expression of understanding or realization)
Synonym: aw

Alternative forms

ah

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔaʔ/ [ˈʔaʔ]
Rhymes: -aʔ
Syllabification: a

Interjection

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

ouch (expression of pain)
Synonyms: aray, aw

Alternative forms

ah

Etymology 4

Compare Hokkien 啊 (--a).

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔa]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Particle

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

alternative form of ha (sentence-ending particle)

Alternative forms

ah

Tarantino

Preposition

a

in
at
to

Tarifit

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æ/

Letter

a (upper case A, lower case a)

A letter of the Tarifit alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Particle

a (Tifinagh spelling ⴰ)

allomorph of ad (preverbal particle expressing nonrealized or future events) used before clitics
vocative particle
A Mimunt! ― O Mimount!

Tày

Pronunciation

(Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧]
(Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˦˥]

Etymology 1

Particle

a (Nôm form 呵)

alright?; okay?; will you?
Chin a. ― Let's eat.

Mừa a. ― Let's go home.
already
Chư̱ a. ― Oh right.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Tai *ʔaːᴬ (“father's younger sister”). Cognate with Lao ອາ (ʼā), Thai อา (aa).

Noun

a (Nôm form 妸)

paternal aunt
me̱ a ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

pi noọng lục áo lục dé, lục me̱ a lục po̱ khủ ― first cousins (literally, “brothers [who are] children of uncles and aunts”)
younger sister
a noọng ― younger sister (in relation to a brother)

Derived terms

References

Hoàng Văn Ma; Lục Văn Pảo; Hoàng Chí (2006), Từ điển Tày-Nùng-Việt [Tay-Nung-Vietnamese dictionary] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Từ điển Bách khoa Hà Nội
Lương Bèn (2011), Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[13][14] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[15] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]
Léopold Michel Cadière (1910), Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary]‎^[16] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient

Tenharim

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]

Letter

a

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

Tok Pisin

Etymology

Imitative or onomatopoeia.

Interjection

a

eh?
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:1:
  God, Bikpela i bin wokim olgeta animal, tasol i no gat wanpela bilong ol inap winim snek long tok gris. Na snek i askim meri olsem, “Ating God i tambuim yutupela long kaikai pikinini bilong olgeta diwai bilong gaden, a?”
  →New International Version translation

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *a. Cognates include Maori a and Tuvaluan a.

Article

a

a personal article, used after the prepositions i and ki and before personal names or names of months

Derived terms

a te

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *qa. Cognates include Hawaiian a and Samoan a.

Preposition

a

marks alienable possession; of

References

R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[17], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 1

Tooro

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

-a

The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of

Declension

Inflected forms of -a
Noun class	indefinite		definite
Noun class	singular	plural	singular	plural
1/2	wa	ba	owa	aba
3/4	gwa	ya	ogwa	eya
5/6	lya	ga	erya	aga
7/8	kya	bya	ekya	ebya
9/10	ya	za	eya	eza
11/10	rwa	za	orwa	eza
12/14	ka	bwa	aka	obwa
13	—	twa	—	otwa
14/6	bwa	ga	obwa	aga
15/6	kwa	ga	okwa	aga
16	ha	—	aha	—
18	mwa	—	omwa	—

References

Kaji, Shigeki (2007), A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[18], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 415

Tumbuka

Letter

a (lowercase, uppercase A)

A letter of the Tumbuka alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Turkish

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Noun

a

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Turkmen

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /a/, /aː/

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

Tyap

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /a/, /aː/

Letter

a (upper case A)

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

Interjection

a

ah (expression of surprise, question)
eh (expression of reluctance)

Pronoun

a

you (2nd person subject singular personal pronoun)

Pronoun

a̱

he/she (3rd person singular personal pronoun)

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ə̀/

Pronoun

á̱

they (indefinite) (3rd person plural personal pronoun)

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ə́/

Upper Sorbian

Conjunction

a

and
the (establishing a parallel between two comparatives)
starši a mudriši ― the older, the smarter

dlěje a hórje ― the longer, the worse

Urubú-Kaapor

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]

Letter

a

The first letter of the Urubú-Kaapor alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧]
Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French a.

Letter

a (upper case A, lower case a)

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

Noun

a

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

Etymology 2

Noun

(classifier cái) a • (阿)

(rare) a cutting tool consisting of two blades inserted into a long handle to cut grass or to harvest rice
Synonyms: trang, gạc

rèn một lưỡi a bằng ba lưỡi hái
literally, "forging one a blade (the blade of a two-bladed cutting tool) equals three scythe blades"; a master tool takes thrice the toil

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French are.

Noun

a

(dated) a land measurement unit, equal to 100 square meters

Etymology 4

Verb

a

(rare) to rush or charge forward at
Synonyms: sấn, xông

a vào giật cho bằng được
to charge in and snatch it at all costs

Etymology 5

Pronoun

a

(slang, Internet, text messaging) abbreviation of anh

Etymology 6

Particle

a

(North Central Vietnam, otherwise rare) Used to indicate a question that is asked out of perplexity or sarcasm.
Bây giờ mới đi a?
You've only been going just now?

Dừ mì đi a?
You've only been going just now?

Thật thế a?
Really?

Rứa a?
Really?

Etymology 7

Interjection

a

An expression of happiness, surprise or of a sudden remembrance of something.
A mẹ đã về!
Oh, my mom came home!

A, mình nhớ ra rồi!
Oh, I remember!

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from English a or French à.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

per, a
a del ― per day, a day
by
a tel ― by twos

Votic

Pronunciation

(Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
(Jõgõperä) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
Rhymes: -ɑ
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

Letter

a

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

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Conjunction

a

but (following a negative clause or sentence), on the contrary, but rather
however, although, nevertheless, on the other hand

Etymology 3

Natural. Compare Russian а (a).

Interjection

a

ah!, oh!
oops!
ouch!

References

Hallap, V.; Adler, E.; Grünberg, S.; Leppik, M. (2012), Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Walloon

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

at

Welsh

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

à (unpredictably short)
á (unusually stressed)
â (unpredictably or unusually stressed long)
ä (indicating disyllaicity)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/
Rhymes: -aː

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Welsh alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script. followed by b

Mutation

a cannot be mutated but, being a vowel, does take h-prothesis, for example with the word afal (“apple”):

Mutated forms of *afal*
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
afal	unchanged	unchanged	hafal

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Derived terms

Digraph sequences: ae, ai, au, aw, ay

Noun

a f (plural âu)

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

Mutation

Mutated forms of a
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
a	unchanged	unchanged	ha

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/
Rhymes: -aː

Verb

a

(colloquial) first-person singular future of mynd

Synonyms

af (literary)

Etymology 3

From Old Welsh a(c), from Proto-Brythonic *(h)a, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd-gʰe (compare Welsh ag and Cornish ha).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/
Rhymes: -a

Conjunction

a (triggers aspirate mutation (but not always in colloquial language))

and

Synonyms

ac (used before a vowel)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/
Rhymes: -a

Pronoun

a (triggers soft mutation)

(relative) that, which, who
y dyn a welais i ― the man whom I saw

Usage notes

a is used in direct relative clauses, i.e. where the pronoun refers to the subject or the direct object of an inflected verb (as opposed to a periphrastic construction with bod (“to be”).
a is not used with the third person singular present of the verb bod, where the relative verb form sydd is used instead:
Mae'r dyn yn ifanc. ― The man is young.

y dyn sydd yn ifanc (not *y dyn a yw'n ifanc) ― the man who is young
a is not used in indirect relative clauses, where the pronoun is part of a genitive or periphrastic construction. Instead the second relative pronoun y is used:
Roedd chwaer y dyn yma. ― The man's sister was here.

y dyn yr oedd ei chwaer yma (not *y dyn a oedd ei chwaer yma) ― the man whose sister was here

West Makian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Verb

a

(stative) to be cooked
(stative) to be done, finished

Conjugation

Conjugation of a (stative verb)
		singular	plural
		singular	inclusive	exclusive
1st person		tia	mia	aa
2nd person		nia	fia
3rd person	inanimate	ia	dia
3rd person	animate	maa	dia
imperative		—, a	—, a

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Verb

a

(transitive) alternative form of am (“to eat”)

Usage notes

The verb a ("to eat") takes the same verbal prefixes that directional verbs do.

Conjugation

Conjugation of a (directional verb)
		singular	plural
		singular	inclusive	exclusive
1st person		tia	mia	aa
2nd person		nia	fia
3rd person	inanimate	ia	dia
3rd person	animate	ia	dia
imperative		nia, a	fia, a

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[19], Pacific linguistics

Yao

Letter

a (lowercase, uppercase A)

A letter of the Yao alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Particle

-a

The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of

Usage notes

This particle agrees in class with the noun preceding it.

Inflection

Inflected forms of -a
singular		plural
class 1	jwa	class 2	ŵa
class 3	wa	class 4	ja
class 5	lya	class 6	ga
class 7	ca	class 8	ya
class 9	ja	class 10	sya
class 11	lwa
class 12	ka	class 13	twa
class 14	wa
class 15	kwa

locative classes
class 16	class 17	class 18
pa	kwa	mwa

Yele

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æ/

Letter

a (upper case A)

A letter of the Yele alphabet.

Derived terms

The digraph ⟨aa⟩ transcribes the long vowel /æː/
The digraph ⟨꞉a⟩ transcribes the nasal vowel /æ̃/
The trigraph ⟨꞉aa⟩ transcribes the long nasal vowel /æ̃ː/

Yola

Etymology 1

From Middle English þe, from Old English þe.

Alternative forms

tha, thay, the, th', ye, y', ee, eee

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/, /ðaː/, /ðeː/, /ðiː/, /ð/, /iː/

Determiner

a

the, in later times the.
- 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 94:
  Maade a nicest coolecannan that e'er ye did zee.
  Made the nicest coolecannan that ever you did see.
- 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 108:
  A vursth stroke hea strooke
  The first stroke he struck
- 1867, “JAMEEN QOUGEELY EE-PEALTHE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 110, lines 5-6:
  If ich hadh Peeougheen a Buch, Meyleare a Slut, Peedher Ghiel-laaune, an Jackeen Bugaaune,
  If I had Hugh the Buck, Meyler the Sloven, Peter the Smart Man, and John Boggan,

Etymology 2

From Middle English a, an, from Old English ān (“one; a; lone; sole”).

Alternative forms

e

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ə/

Article

a

one
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 30:
  A chi of barach.
  A little barley.

Etymology 3

From Middle English a, unstressed variant of on, of.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ə/

Preposition

a

on
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 35:
  Aar's dhurth a heighe.
  There's dirt on high.
- 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 4-6:
  Yer name var zetch avancet avare ye, e'en a dicke var hye, arent whilke ye brine o'zea an ye craggès o'noghanes cazed nae balke.
  Your fame for such came before you even into this retired spot, to which neither the waters of the sea below nor the mountains above caused any impediment.
of
- 2005, Jacob Poole Of Growtown - And the Yola Dialect:
  Nich th' hia thoras a Culpake.
  
  Nigh the tall thistles of Culpake.

Etymology 4

Pronoun

a

alternative form of thaaye (“they”)
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 32:
  A war cowdealeen wi ooree.
  They were scolding with one another.

References

Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 21

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Yoruba alphabet, called á and written in the Latin script.

Noun

á

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

Etymology 2

Likely a clipping of àwa (“we (emphatic pronoun)”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ā/

Pronoun

a

we (first-person plural personal subject pronoun)
Ó yẹ kí a dọ̀bálẹ̀ fún àwọn àgbàlagbà tí a máa ń pàdé.
It's necessary that we prostrate for elders that we meet.

A à tí ì rí wọn lónìí, ṣùgbọ́n a máa lọ sí báńkì lọ́la láti bá wọn sọ̀rọ̀.
We haven't seen them yet today, but we'll go to the bank tomorrow to talk to them.

Usage notes

Similar to other shortened subject pronouns, its usage is restricted and can only be found directly before a verb or pre-verbal marker. It cannot be used with particles/discourse markers such as ńkọ́ or conjunctions such as àti, pẹ̀lú, and tàbí. In those cases, àwa must be used instead.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

(mid-tone): IPA^(key): /ā/
(high-tone): IPA^(key): /á/

Pronoun

a

him, her, it (third-person singular non-honorific object pronoun following a monosyllabic verb with a high-tone /a/)
Synonym: (honorific) wọn

Àá bá a sọ̀rọ̀ l'ọ́sẹ̀ t'ó ń bọ̀.
We'll talk to him next week.

Pronoun

á

him, her, it (third-person singular non-honorific object pronoun following a monosyllabic verb with a low- or mid-tone /a/)
Synonym: (honorific) wọn

Wọ́n ti pa á o! ― They've killed her!

Ǹj'ó o kà á? ― Did you read it?

Yucatec Maya

Pronoun

a

you (second-person singular pronoun)

Zazaki

Letter

a

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

Pronoun

a f

she

Zhuang

Pronunciation

(Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /ʔa˨˦/

Etymology 1

Compare Chinese 鴉 / 鸦 (yā).

Noun

a (Sawndip forms 𮬨 or 鵶 or ⿰下鳥 or 蚜)

crow

Synonyms

roegga

Etymology 2

Noun

a (Sawndip form 妸)

(dialectal) mother

Etymology 3

Particle

a

used to express questions

Zou

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a˧/

Noun

a

hen

References

Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 41

Zulu

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

		singular		plural
		+ C	+ V	+ C	+ V
first person		mo^L	m'	ar	ar^N
second person		do^L	d'	ur	ur^N
third person	m	a^L	—	an, am¹	an
third person	f	a	a^H	an, am¹	an

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	plural
	u / lu	a / la	i / li
a	ô (older also: a lu)	â (older also: a la)	ê (older also: a li)
di	dû (older also: di lu)	dâ (older also: di la)	dî (older also: di li)
cu	cû (older also: cu lu)	câ (older also: cu la)	chî (older also: cu li)
pi	pû (older also: pi lu)	pâ (older also: pi la)	pî (older also: pi li)
*nna*	nnô (older also: nna lu)	nnâ (older also: nna la)	nnê (older also: nna li)
*nni*	nnû (older also: nni lu)	nnâ (older also: nni la)	nnî (older also: nni li)

Mandinka personal pronouns
		singular	plural
1st person	short	ń, m̀
1st person	long	ńte	ńtolu, ńtelu
2nd person	short	í	ali
2nd person	long	íte	alitolu, alitelu
3rd person	short	a	ì
3rd person	long	ate	ìtolu, ìtelu, ìte

Mizo personal pronouns
Person	Clitic		Free
Person	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st person	ka	kan	kei	keini
2nd person	i	in	nang	nangni
3rd person	a	an	ani	anni

Mizo verb agreement pronouns
Subject →		1st person		2nd person		3rd person
↓ Object		Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st person	Singular	—		mi ... min ...
1st person	Plural	—		mi ... min ...
2nd person	Singular	ka ... che	kan ... che	—		a ... che	an ... che
2nd person	Plural	ka ... che u	kan ... che u	—		a ... che u	an ... che u
3rd person	Singular	ka ...	kan ...	i ...	in ...	a ...	an ...
3rd person	Plural	ka ...	kan ...	i ...	in ...	a ...	an ...

Articles (Föhr-Amrum dialect)
		singular		plural
		m	f / n	plural
definite / demonstrative	full	de	det	dön
definite / demonstrative	reduced	a	at, 't	a
indefinite / numeral	full	een	ian	—
indefinite / numeral	reduced	en		—
negative		neen	nian
While the feminine gender has generally been merged into the neuter, a certain number of traditionally feminine nouns still alternatively take the reduced definite article a alongside at. The form 't is enclitic and occurs only after prepositions.

Malay

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Interjection

Further reading

Maltese

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Mandarin

Romanization

Usage notes

Mandinka

Pronoun

See also

Maori

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Etymology

Pronunciation

Particle

Usage notes

Mezquital Otomi

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Interjection

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

References

Middle Dutch

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

Descendants

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology 1

Article

Etymology 2

Pronoun

Etymology 3

Pronoun

Etymology 4

Pronoun

Etymology 5

Pronoun

Etymology 6

Numeral

Middle French

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Preposition

Etymology 2

Verb

Middle Irish

Preposition

Usage notes

Middle Scots

Etymology 1

Letter

Etymology 2

Article

Usage notes

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Interjection

Etymology 4

Numeral

Alternative forms

Etymology 5

Pronoun