a/languages M to Z

• (letter name): IPA^(key): [e]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

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• (interjection): IPA^(key): [a]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

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a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

a (Jawi spelling ا)

1. Used to show excitement or to show agreement.

   A, macam itulah sepatutnya kaujawab!

   Yes, that's how you should answer!

2. Used to express hesitation; er, uh. synonym ▲

   Synonym: er

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

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

• "a" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) ittra; A a, B b, Ċ ċ, D d, E e, F f, Ġ ġ, G g, Għ għ, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Ie ie, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Ż ż, Z z

a (a⁵ / a⁰, Zhuyin ㄚ)

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

a

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

• 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.

a

1. he, him (personal pronoun)

   A m busa ― He/she struck me.

   Y a busa ― They struck him/her.

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

• IPA^(key): /a/ [ɐ]

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ā ā, E e, Ē ē, H h, I i, Ī ī, K k, M m, N n, O o, Ō ō, P p, R r, T t, U u, Ū ū, W w, Ng ng, Wh wh

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/ [ˈɐ]

a

1. of
2. (determinative particle for names)
3. (particle for pronouns when succeeding ki, i, kei, and hei)
4. used before place names and location words when they act as subject of a phrase

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

a

1. well then

• IPA^(key): [a]

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Á á, àã), E e (É é, Ẽ ẽ), G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ĩ ĩ), J j, K k, M m, Mb mb, N n, Nd nd, Ng ng, Nh nh, O o (Ó ó, Õ õ), P p, R r, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ũ ũ), V v, X x, Y y (Ý ý, Ỹ ỹ), '

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

• IPA^(key): /à/

a

1. expresses satisfaction, pity, fright, or admiration

• ʼa (obsolete)

• IPA^(key): /à/, /ǎ/

a

1. (transitive) wake, awaken

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

• ʼá (obsolete)

• IPA^(key): /á/, /ǎ/

a

1. flea

• Andrews, Enriqueta (1950), Vocabulario otomí de Tasquillo, Hidalgo‎^[2] (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)‎^[3] (in Spanish), second edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 3

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

â f

1. (rare) river, stream, water

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

• Dutch: a, Aa

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

a

1. alternative form of an (mainly preconsonantal)

a

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

a

1. alternative form of heo (“she”)

a

1. alternative form of he (“he”)

a

1. alternative form of he (“they”)

a

1. (Northern, Early Middle English) alternative form of o (“one”)

From Old French a, from Latin ad.

a

1. to; towards alternative form ▲

   Alternative form: à (after 1550)

From Old French, from Latin habet.

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir alternative form ▲

   Alternative form: ha

a (triggers eclipsis)

1. alternative form of i (“in”)

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

Inherited from Middle English a

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Inherited from Middle English a

a

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

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

Inherited from Middle English a

• aa

a

1. ah!

Inherited from Northern Middle English a.

a

1. one

• ae, ea

Inherited from Middle English a

a

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

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

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (triggers lenition)

1. O (vocative particle)

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (triggers lenition)

1. who, which, that

a (triggers lenition)

1. inserted before the verb when the subject or direct object precedes it

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (triggers lenition)

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

Reduction of o (“from”).

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. used between a focused adjective and the noun it modifies

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

From Old Welsh ha.

• ac

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (triggers aspiration)

1. and

• ac

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (triggers aspiration)

1. with

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

• aa

• IPA^(key): /aː/

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of mynet

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

a (plural an)

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

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “a”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

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

a (oblique masculine an)

1. a, an

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

a

1. the

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

a

1. you (singular)

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

a

1. superseded spelling of aa

• Shirley Burtch (1983), Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[4] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 19

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a

1. I (first person singular pronoun) quotations ▼
   • 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).

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

   a = /a˨/

   ą = /ã˨/

   á = /a˥/

   ą́ = /ã˥/

   aa = /aː˨˨/

   ąą = /ãː˨˨/

   áa = /aː˥˨/

   ą́ą = /ãː˥˨/

   aá = /aː˨˥/

   ąą́ = /ãː˨˥/

   áá = /aː˥˥/

   ą́ą́ = /ãː˥˥/

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

• IPA^(key): /a/

From Latin de ab.

a

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

From Latin ad.

a

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

Inherited from Old Tupi a.

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) pinimasawa-rupiára / yumupinimasawa-rupiára; A a (Á á, àã), B b (C c, Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ẽ ẽ, F f), G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ĩ ĩ), J j, K k (L l), M m, N n (O o, Ó ó, Õ õ), P p, R r (Rr rr), S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ũ ũ, V v), W w, X x, Y y (Z z)

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

a (imperfective manga)

1. (transitive) to eat

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

a

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

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• 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⟩.

• (North Frisian letters): a, ä, å, ā, b, c, d, đ, e, ē, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, r, s, t, u, ü, v, w (q, x, y, z)

a

1. (Föhr-Amrum) the (masculine and all-gender plural definite article, reduced form) coordinate terms ▲

   Coordinate terms: (full forms) de, dön

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

• e (Mooring)

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.

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɑː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɑː/, /a/, (before u or in some Enɡlish loan words) [æ]

• Audio:

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• Audio:

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz, Ææ, Øø, Åå

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

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

   fra A til B ― from A to B

   fra A til Å ― from A to Z

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

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

     bruken av a i bestemt form i hunkjønnsord

     the use of a in the definite form of feminine words

2. indicates the first or best entry of a list, order or rank synonyms ▲quotations ▼

   Synonyms: A-, a-

   oppgang A ― apartment entrance A

   blodgruppe A ― blood group A

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

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

   A post ― A post / priority mail

   A-aksje ― class A-share

   hepatitt A ― hepatitis A

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

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

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

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

     begynde paa Ø istedet for A

     start with Ø instead of A

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

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

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

   • 1939, Knut Hamsun, Artikler, page 99:

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

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

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

   få A til eksamen

   receive an A on an exam

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

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

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

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

   A-dur

   A major

   A-moll

   A minor

   • 1944, Børre Qvamme, Musikk, page 10:

     synge en riktig A uten hjelp av et instrument eller stemmegaffel

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

   • 1973, Finn Havrevold, Avreisen, page 127:

     han slår énstrøken a på klaveret

     he strikes one stroke A on the piano

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

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

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

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

   Synonym: a-

   a-bombe

   atom bomb (a-bomb)

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

Abbreviation of atto- (“atto-”).

a

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

Abbreviation of ar (“are”).

a

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

   Synonym: ar

From French à (“to, on, in”).

a

1. alternative spelling of à

• à

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

a

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

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

• ab

From Italian a (“in, at, to”).

a

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

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

2. weak form of av (of)

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”).

a

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

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

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

   • 1989, Bergljot Hobæk Haff, Den guddommelige tragedie:

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

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

2. (dialectal, about grammatically feminine animals or objects) it, she quotations ▼
   • 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?

   synonym ▲

   hvor er a katta di?

   where is your cat?

   Synonym: hun

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

   hva gjorde du med a?

   what did you do to her?

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

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

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

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

     [klokkeren] skulle da koste paa a amen

     [the clockmaker] would then cost her amen

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

     jeg kan da gjerne skjære litt mat til a

     I could happily cut some food for her

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

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

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

   • 2010, Helene Guåker, Kjør!:

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

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

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

   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 ▲

   Synonym: henne

5. (dialectal, used proclitically with a woman's name or female relation) she, her quotations ▼
   • 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^[5], 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

From Danish ah (“oh”), likely from German ach (“oh”), from Middle High German ach, from Old High German ah. Also see ah and akk.

a

1. expression of surprise or horror quotations ▼

   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

2. expression of admiration or happiness quotations ▼

   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

3. used with the words yes and no to give a sense of impatience or rejection quotations ▼

   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.

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”).

a

1. expression of anger or sorrow, especially with a personal pronoun

   uff a meg!

   oh, my!

   huff a meg!

   oh, no!

• å

• “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

• A, A-, a-

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz, Ææ, Øø, Åå

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

1. the letter a

a

1. ah! synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: ah, å

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

a

1. (dialect) alternative form of av quotations ▼
   • 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.

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

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) banki; A a (Á á, À à), B b, C c, D d, Dz dz, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì), J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, Ts ts, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

• IPA^(key): /à/

à

1. 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.

Clipping of lá.

• IPA^(key): /á/

á

1. Marks the perfective aspect, for actions that are completed

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”)

Clipping of gà.

• IPA^(key): /à/

à

1. Used to express the future tense (placed before verbs)

   A à lá èbi be nakàn ― They will use a knife to cut the meat

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

a

1. this synonym ▲

   Synonym: aha

2. you (sg.) synonym ▲

   Synonym: gǀa

   a aa a

   you give this

a

1. your (sg.)

   A ka ǃu ke ǀxaquka

   your shoes are beautiful

2. this

• 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).

• IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio (Béarn):

  Duration: 2 seconds.0:02

  (file)

From Latin ad.

a

1. to
2. at

• al, als

a f (plural as)

1. a (the letter a)

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of aver

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

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

a

1. ah!

• Czech: a

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

a

1. Connective, contrasitve particle; and
2. then, as, if
3. yes, of course

a

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

• Czech: a

• 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

• aa (Jutlandic)

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/

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

ā (genitive ār, plural ār)

1. (Scania) stream, river

• Danish: å

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

ā

1. (Scania) on, in, at

• Danish: på

ā

1. first/third-person singular present indicative of ēgha

From Proto-West Germanic *ahu.

ā f

1. river, stream, water

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

• aha

• Middle Dutch: â
  • Dutch: a, Aa

• “ā, ē”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

• āwa, āwo, ō

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

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː

ā

1. ever, always quotations ▼
   • 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!

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

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː

ā f

1. alternative form of ǣ: law

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

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/
• Rhymes: -ɑ

a

1. alternative form of on: to, in

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

From Latin ad.

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

a

1. to
2. towards
3. belonging to

   fil a putain ― son of a whore

• al
• au
• aux

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

• ad

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

From Latin ab.

a

1. by, by means of

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

• ē

ā f

1. water

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

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

ā f

1. island

• Saterland Frisian: Äi

From Proto-West Germanic *aiw.

ā

1. in any case, under all circumstances
2. every time, whenever

a

1. in, to, at

• thera

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/

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

a

1. to; towards quotations ▼
   • 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.

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

Inherited from Latin illa f (“that”).

a f

1. feminine singular of o quotations ▼
   • 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.

• Fala: a
• Galician: a
• Portuguese: a

Inherited from Latin a, from A, borrowed from Ancient Greek Α (A), influenced by Etruscan 𐌀 (a).

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. The first letter of the Old Galician-Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• Fala: a
• Galician: a
• Portuguese: a

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (Ẽ ẽ), F f, G g, H h, I i (Ĩ ĩ, J j, Y y, Ỹ ỹ), K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ũ ũ, V v), X x, Z z

From Proto-Celtic *sosim (“this”).

• (relative pronoun): an

a

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

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

2. that which, what quotations ▼
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

• Irish: a (“all that, whatever”)
• Scottish Gaelic: a

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 in (definite article)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

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

a (triggers eclipsis, takes a nasalizing relative clause)

1. when quotations ▼
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

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 अ॒स्य (asyá, “his, its”), अ॒स्यास् (asyā́s, “her”), and ए॒षाम् (eṣā́m, “their”).

• á, ha

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)

1. his, its
2. her, its
3. their quotations ▼
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

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

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 a (‘his, her, their’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

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

• á

a (triggers lenition)

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

• Irish: a
• Scottish Gaelic: a

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 a (vocative particle)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

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

1. introduces a numeral

   a deich ― ten

• Irish: a
• Scottish Gaelic: a

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “3 a (particle used before numerals)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

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

• á

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

1. out of quotations ▼
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

• ess-

• Irish: as
• Manx: ass
• Scottish Gaelic: à

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “7 a (‘out of’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) [1909], D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, translation of Handbuch des Alt-Irischen (in German), →ISBN, §§ 436, 834, pages 274, 507–10; reprinted 2017

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

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

a

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

• Polish: a
• Silesian: a

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

a

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

• Polish: a
• Silesian: a

• 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
• Bożena Sieradzka-Baziur, et al., editors (2011–2015), “a”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• Bożena Sieradzka-Baziur, et al., editors (2011–2015), “a, ha”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• Ewa Deptuchowa, et al., 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

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a (“and, but”).

a

1. and

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “a”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Inherited from Latin ad (“to”).

a

1. To; unto; indicates an indirect object; sometimes untranslated. quotations ▼
   • 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.

• á, à

• Ladino: a, אה
• Spanish: a

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

a

1. third-person singular present indicative of aver

Onomatopoeic

a

1. ah! Indicates admiration, surprise, or sorrow.

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

• ᛆ

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

• IPA^(key): /aː/

ā f

1. creek, river

• Swedish: å

• “å”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Borrowed from Portuguese a.

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• Nheengatu: a

• (Latin-script letters) kûatiara; A a (Á á, àã), B b, E e (É é, Ẽ ẽ, G g), H h, I i (Í í, Ĩ ĩ), Πî, K k, M m, Mb mb, N n, Nd nd, Ng ng, Nh nh, O o (Ó ó, Õ õ), P p, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ũ ũ), Û û, X x, Y y (Ỹ ỹ), Ŷ ŷ, '

a

1. arm

• Omaha Ponca digital dictionary

a

1. water

• IPA^(key): /ɐ/

• Syllables - a/-lan-gua-ges m -to z, Count - 5

  • Audio:

    Duration: 2 seconds.0:02

    (file)

a (plural aa)

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

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

a

1. a, the

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

a

1. linking particle

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

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

a

1. Indicates the past tense.

   Mi a papia kuné. ― I talked to him.

From Portuguese a.

a

1. to
2. by
3. at

• Only used in set expressions from Spanish.

• IPA^(key): [a]
• Rhymes: -a

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Á á), àã, Ch ch, E e (É é), Ẽ ẽ, G g, G̃ g̃, H h, I i (Í í), Ĩ ĩ, J j, K k, L l, M m, Mb mb, N n, Nd nd, Ng ng, Nt nt, Ñ ñ, O o (Ó ó), Õ õ, P p, R r, Rr rr, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), Ũ ũ, V v, Y y (Ý ý), Ỹ ỹ, ʼ

• Canese, Natalia Krivoshein de; Alcaraz, Feliciano Acosta (2016), “a”, in Ñe’ẽryru [Dictionary] (overall work in Spanish), Asunción: Instituto Superior de Lenguas, →ISBN, page 11, column 1

a

1. alternative spelling of ah (“ah, oh”)

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

• Audio 1:

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Audio 3:

  Duration: 2 seconds.0:02

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: a
• Homophones: a-, -a

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.

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. 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

• see other Polish letters

First attested in 1551.^[1]

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

a n (indeclinable)

1. a, near-open central vowel

   samogłoska a ― the vowel a

   powiedzieć a ― to say a

2. (music) a (note)

   zagrać a ― to play an a

   zaśpiewać a ― to sing an a

Abbreviation of ar.

a m inan

1. (metrology) abbreviation of ar

Inherited from Old Polish a.

a

1. and, but, whereas (used contrastively)

   A ty? ― And you?

   Wolisz tabletki, a ja wolę zastrzyki. ― You prefer pills whereas I prefer injections.

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

   walka między dobrem a złem ― battle between good and evil

3. 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.

4. and (used after a verb to indicate it will last a long time)

   pracować a pracować ― to work and work (for a long time)

5. such and such (used when the speaker does not want to be more specific, when repeating an element)
6. is (used to show some connection between two objects which are very different from each other)
7. what about

   Ja jestem gotowy, a ty? ― I'm ready, what about you?

Inherited from Old Polish a.

a

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

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]

• Modern Standard Polish:
  • “a”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[6] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • “a”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[7] (in Polish)
• Middle Polish:
  • Maria Renata Mayenowa, et al., editors (2010-2023), “a”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
  • Maria Renata Mayenowa, et al., editors (2010-2023), “a”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
  • “A”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 31.05.2022
• Historic dictionaries:
  • Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “a”, in Słownik języka polskiego
  • Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “a”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
  • J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “a”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 1
• Dialectal dictionaries:
  • Zofia Stamirowska (1987-2024), “a”, in Anna Basara, editor, Słownik gwar Ostródzkiego, Warmii i Mazur, volume 1, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, →ISBN, pages 107-109
  • Józefa Kobylińska (2001), “a”, in Marian Kucała, editor, Słownik gwary gorczańskiej (zagórzańskiej)‎^[8] (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pedagogicznej, →ISBN, page 1

letter

• IPA^(key): /a/
• Homophone: à (Brazil)

• Audio:

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a

article, pronoun

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a/
• Homophone: à (Brazil)

• Audio (Brazil):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a

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

a m (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à, Â â, Ã ã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

a m (plural as)

2. alternative spelling of á

• with diacritics: ã, â, à, á

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”).

a

2. feminine singular of o quotations ▼
   • 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, [...]

For quotations using this term, see Citations:o.

a f (third-person singular)

2. 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.

• 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.”

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

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

a

2. to, introduces the indirect object synonym ▲quotations ▼

   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.

4. to; towards, indicates destination synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: para, até

   Vamos a Paris! ― Let’s go to Paris!

6. away, indicates a physical distance

   A vila fica a onze milhas ― The village is eleven miles away.

   Comunicação à distância. ― Communication at a distance.

8. with; by means of, using as an instrument or means synonyms ▲

   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.

10. with; on, using as a medium or fuel

    Quadro pintado a óleo. ― A painting painted with oil.

    Fornalha a carvão. ― Coal furnace.

12. 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.

14. (preceded and followed by the same word) by, indicates a steady progression synonym ▲

    Synonym: por

    Calma lá. Resolva o problema passo a passo. ― Easy there. Solve the problem step by step.

16. in the style or manner of; a la synonym ▲

    Synonym: ao modo de

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

    Camarão à grega. ― Greek-style shrimp.

18. (limited use, see usage notes) at, during the specified period synonyms ▲

    Synonyms: em, de

    Dormimos à noite. ― We sleep at night.

    O filme começa às duas horas. ― The film starts at two o’clock.

20. (rare except in set terms) at; in, indicates a location or position synonym ▲

    Synonym: em

    Isto fica à frente do altar. ― This stays in front of the altar.

22. 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.”)

24. (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.

26. (followed by an infinitive or present passive) to, forms the future participle synonyms ▲

    Synonyms: para, por

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

    Nada a fazer. ― Nothing to be done.

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”).

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

• Indo-Portuguese: a
• Papiamentu: a

• em
• para

a

2. (text messaging) alternative spelling of ah

   A, tudo bem então.

   Oh, all right then.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

From homophone há.

a

1. misspelling of há

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

From homophone à.

a

1. misspelling of à

For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/
• Hyphenation: a

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

a

1. the personal article, used before proper nouns

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

a

1. along, towards

• Paulus Kieviet (2017), A grammar of Rapa Nui‎^[9], Berlin: Language Science Press, →ISBN, page 102

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a

1. verbal suffix for marking benefactive of the V.

a (upper case A)

1. 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.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• à

• (Central Romagnol) IPA^(key): [ˈaɐ̯]
  • (Ville Unite):
    • (San Zaccaria) IPA^(key): [ˈaɐ]

a

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

From Latin ego.

a (plural a)

1. (Ville Unite) I
2. (Ville Unite) plural of a (“we”)
3. (Ville Unite) plural of te (“you”)

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

a

1. to; at

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

a

1. oh, ah

• 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

• а (a) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) Aa, Ăă, Ââ, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Îî, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Șș, Tt, Țț, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

a

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

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

a

1. (used with infinitive verbs) the infinitive marker: to

   a fi ― to be

2. (obsolete) at (now almost completely replaced by la)
3. (used only with a few perception verbs like suna, mirosi, arăta) like, of

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

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

1. modal auxiliary

   (he/she) has...

   A văzut acest film?

   Has he/she seen this film?

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

• “a”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

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

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

a

1. (Nuorese) only used in che a (“like, as”)
2. (Campidanese) only used in tottu a and a tottu
3. 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”)

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

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

• 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)

a

1. indicates the indirect object; to
2. indicates the place; in, to
3. denotes the manner; with

   a pe' (Logudorese) ― on foot

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.

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

a

1. (central Sardinia) Used to introduce a question or an exhortation

   a benis? ― are you coming?

   a nos pasamos! ― Let's rest!

• 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.

• annò

• 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

• ad (before a vowel)

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

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

2. Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action; to, sometimes untranslated
4. Used to indicate destination; to
6. Used to indicate purpose; to
8. Used with adverbs expressing position or proximity; to, sometimes untranslated
10. Used to indicate a moment in time; at
12. Used to indicate a period of time; in
14. in, about, with regard to
16. Used to indicate a comparison; to
18. Denotes the direct object
20. Indicates manner.
22. Indicates shape.
24. Used to introduce a question.

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:a.

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

• IPA^(key): /a/

a (third-person singular)

1. he
2. she
3. it

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L, l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z, Ȝ ȝ

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

• IPA^(key): [ə]

a

1. a, an (indefinite article)

• 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]

• (before a vowel): an

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

a

1. alternative form of a'

a

1. alternative form of a'

a (uncountable)

1. alternative form of a'

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

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. The first letter of the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, written in the Latin script; followed by b; traditionally named ailm (“elm”).

• (Latin-script letters) litir; A a (À à), B b (Bh bh), C c (Ch ch), D d (Dh dh), E e (È è), F f (Fh fh), G g (Gh gh), H h, I i (Ì ì), L l, M m (Mh mh), N n, O o (Ò ò), P p (Ph ph), R r, S s (Sh sh), T t (Th th), U u (Ù ù)
• (diacritics) ◌̀
• (obsolete vowels) Á á É é Ó ó

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

a (triggers lenition)

1. Used to mark a vocative; O

   Halò, a Ruairidh. ― Hello, (O) Roderick.

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

a (triggers lenition)

1. his, its

a (triggers h-prothesis)

1. her, its

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

a (governs the relative form of a verb)

1. 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.)?”)

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

a (triggers h-prothesis)

1. Used before cardinal numbers not succeeded by a noun

   A bheil agad a ceithir? ― Do you have four?

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish a.

a (triggers lenition)

1. Used to mark the infinitive of a verb; to

   Tha mi a' dol a chadal. ― I'm going to sleep.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

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

1. Reduced form of do
2. Reduced form of de

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

a (triggers lenition)

1. Form of an used before bheil

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

a

1. ah

• à

• MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “a”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[10], 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], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): /a/

See Translingual section.

a (lower case, upper case A, Cyrillic equivalent а)

1. The first letter of the Serbo-Croatian alphabet (gajica), written in the Latin script; followed by b.

From Proto-Slavic *a (“and, but”).

a (Cyrillic spelling а)

1. 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?

2. while (on the contrary), whereas

   Stolovi su crveni, a stolice su zelene. ― The tables are red, whereas the chairs are green.

3. (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.

4. (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.

5. (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.

6. (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.

7. (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.

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.

a (Cyrillic spelling а)

1. oh, ah

   a da? ― oh really?

• “a”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026
• “a”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026
• 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

• IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio (Eastern Sicilian):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

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

a f

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

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

a f sg (m u, plural i)

1. the (feminine singular definite article) synonym ▲

   Synonym: la

• 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).

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

• la (liquid form)

a f sg (plural i, masculine u)

1. (accusative) her synonym ▲

   Synonym: la

   A canusci? ― Do you know her?

2. (accusative) it, this or that thing synonym ▲

   Synonym: la

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

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

From the merge of Latin ad and ab. The mora retained after the apocope of the last consonants still triggers gemination of the following syllable.

• IPA^(key): [a]
• This word triggers syntactic gemination of the following consonant.
  • IPA^(key): [a‿bː-] (when followed by /v/)
  • IPA^(key): [a‿ɟ-] (when followed by /jV-/)

a

1. indicates the indirect object; to

   Porta stu panaru a iḍḍu this basket to him.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   E mû dumanni a mìa?

   You're asking that to me?

2. 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.

4. denotes the manner; with

   a pedi, a muzzu ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

5. 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?

   Ascutassi a mìa, signù!

   Listen to me, ma'am!

• 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

a

1. misspelling of àvi

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/

• Audio:

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: a

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.

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ã ã, B b, C c, Ć ć, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, Ń ń, O o, Ǒ ǒ, Ō ō, Ô ô, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Ś ś, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Z z, Ź ź, Ż ż

Inherited from Old Polish a.

a

1. 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.

2. and, but, whereas (used contrastively)

   Mama sōm przedŏwŏczka a tata sōm elektrykŏrz.

   My mum is a saleswoman while my dad is an electrician.

3. 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.

4. and, how come (used for clarification)

   A czamu pytŏsz?

   How come you ask?

a

1. intensifies agreement

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

a

1. interjection that expresses various emotions; ah!

• a in dykcjonorz.eu
• a in silling.org

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

See Translingual section.

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) bukva; A a,  â, B b, C c, Č č, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ, D d, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, Ǧ ǧ, Ǥ ǥ, H h, I i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, O o, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, ʹ

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

a

1. but
2. how, what about

• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[11], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

• IPA^(key): /a/, [a]

• Audio:

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) písmeno; A a, Á á, Ä ä, B b, C c, Č č, D d, Ď ď, Dz dz, Dž dž, E e, É é, F f, G g, H h, Ch ch, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ĺ ĺ, Ľ ľ, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ó ó, Ô ô, P p, Q q, R r, Ŕ ŕ, S s, Š š, T t, Ť ť, U u, Ú ú, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Ý ý, Z z, Ž ž

Inherited from Old Slovak a.

a

1. and

• “a”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

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.

• (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):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː
• Homophone: a

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

a

1. (SNPT) Phonetic transcription of sound [a].

ā m inan

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

• 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.

more ▼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

more ▼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

• à, á, ā, ȁ, ȃ
• ã, ȧ, ä, å, ḁ, ą
• če si rekel a, reci tudi b
• ena a
• od a do ž

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.

• IPA^(key): /àː/, /áː/, /á/

• Audio (non-tonal, long):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Audio (non-tonal, short):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː
• Homophones: A, a

a

1. oh
2. 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?

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.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. but synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: in, pa, toda, vendar

a

1. contracted form of ali, particle used to form a yes- no question. synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: kaj, ali

• (Latin script letters) Aa, Bb, Cc, Čč, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Šš, Tt, Uu, Vv, Zz, Žž

• à
• á
• ã
• ä
• å
• ā
• ą
• ȁ
• ȃ
• ȧ
• ḁ
• ali

• “a”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

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

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

a

1. and synonym ▲

   Synonym: ë

2. and, but, whereas

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

a

1. ah! synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: ach, ach, o

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “a”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[12] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 1
• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “ã”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[13] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 1

• IPA^(key): /a/, [a]

• Audio (Latin America):

  Duration: 3 seconds.0:03

  (file)

• Audio (Spain):

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

• Homophone: ha
• Rhymes: -a

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

a f (plural aes)

1. Name of the letter A.

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). However, this is an exception. The noun a, when referred to this vowel, is used after feminine articles and not after masculine articles. Also with hache.

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o (Ó ó), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z
• (Latin script letter names) letra; a, be, ce, de, e, efe, ge, hache, i, jota, ka, ele, eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, cu, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta ^{(Category: es:Latin letter names)}

Inherited from Latin ad (“to”).

• (obsolete) á
• (obsolete) à

a

1. to quotations ▼

   Ven a la casa.

   Come home.

   ¡Ve a tu habitación!

   Go to your room!

   • 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.

2. by
3. at

   Siéntate a la mesa.

   Sit at the table.

4. 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.

   Mira a Juan, parece una buena persona.

   Look John, he seems like a good person.

   ¡Escúchame a mí!

   Listen to me!

• Personal a is not translated into English.

a

1. misspelling of ha

a

1. (Internet slang, text messaging, colloquial) Used to express indiference or sarcasm.
2. alternative form of ah

• Spanish prepositions § a on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• IPA^(key): /a/, [a̠], [ɑ̟]

a

1. he, she, it quotations ▼
   • 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]‎^[14], 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.

a (singular)

1. the

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.

a

1. at, to synonym ▲

   Synonym: na

a

1. (copula) to be (used with a noun phrase as complement) synonym ▲

   Synonym: na

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

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

a

1. romanization of 𒀀 (a)

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *-a, from the Proto-Bantu possessive concords.

In Sabaki, cognate with Ngazidja Comorian -a and Giryama -a. Other Bantu cognates include Rwanda-Rundi -a.

-a

1. The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of quotations ▼

   kitabu cha mtoto ― child's book

   kiini cha yai ― egg yolk (literally, “center of egg”)

   • 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[15], 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

• 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

• -enye: the ornative particle

a

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

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

• a dato
• a priori

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) bokstav; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z, Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

a (not comparable)

1. (colloquial) alternative form of aa

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.

• (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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) titik; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, Ng ng, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z
• alpa

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

1. the name of the Latin script letter A/a, in the Abakada alphabet synonym ▲

   Synonym: (in the Filipino alphabet) ey

2. (historical) the name of the Latin script letter A/a, in the Abecedario synonym ▲

   Synonym: (in the Filipino alphabet) ey

• aa

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

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

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

1. ah: an exclamation of pity, admiration or surprise

   A! Kailan namatay ang iyong ina? ― Ah! When did your mother die?

2. oh (expression of understanding or realization) synonym ▲

   Synonym: aw

• ah

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

â (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

1. ouch (expression of pain) synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: aray, aw

• ah

Compare Hokkien 啊 (--a).

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

a (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

1. alternative form of ha (sentence-ending particle)

• ah

• “a”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

a

1. in
2. at
3. to

• (Nador) IPA^(key): [ɛ]
• Syllabification: a
• Rhymes: -ɛ

a m or f (Tifinagh spelling ⴰ)

1. O (vocative particle)

   A Mimunt! ― O Mimount!

a m or f (Tifinagh spelling ⴰ)

1. alternative form of ad used before clitics and the 1st person plural verbal prefix n-

• Serhoual (2002)
• Abarrou (2024)

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

a (Nôm form 呵)

1. alright?; okay?; will you?

   Chin a. ― Let's eat.

   Mừa a. ― Let's go home.

2. already

   Chư̱ a. ― Oh right.

• a dè
• a rối

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

a (Nôm form 妸)

1. 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”)

2. younger sister

   a noọng ― younger sister (in relation to a brother)

• a lùa
• a sliên

• 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]‎^[16][17] (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]‎^[18] (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]‎^[19] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient

• IPA^(key): [a]

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Á á, àã), E e (É é, Ẽ ẽ), G g, G̃, g̃, H h, I i (Í í, Ĩ ĩ), J j, K k, M m (Mb mb), N n (Nd nd, Ng ng, Nh nh), O o (Ó ó, Õ õ), P p, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ũ ũ), V v, X x, Y y (Ý ý, Ỹ ỹ)

a

1. its (third-person nonhuman possessive)
2. theirs (third-person obviate possessive)

Imitative or onomatopoeia.

a

1. eh? quotations ▼
   • 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

• IPA^(key): [a]
• Hyphenation: a

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

a

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

• a te

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

a

1. marks alienable possession; of

• o

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[20], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 1

• IPA^(key): /a/

-a

1. The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of

• Kaji, Shigeki (2007), A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[21], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 415

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin script letters) harf; Aa, Bb, Cc, Çç, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Ğğ, Hh, Iı, İi, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Öö, Pp, Rr, Ss, Şş, Tt, Uu, Üü, Vv, Yy, Zz

a

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

• (Latin script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze ^{(Category: tr:Latin letter names)}

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /a/, /aː/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) harp; A a, B b, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ä ä, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, Ž ž, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, W w, Y y, Ý ý, Z z

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /a/, /aː/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

a

1. ah (expression of surprise, question)
2. eh (expression of reluctance)

a

1. you (2nd person subject singular personal pronoun)

a̱

1. he/she (3rd person singular personal pronoun)

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ə̀/

á̱

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

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ə́/

• (Latin-script letters) A a, A̱ a̱, B b, C c, Cy cy, D d, E e, F f, G g, Gb gb, Gh gh, Ghw ghw, Ghy ghy, H h, I i, I̱ i̱, J j, Jy jy, K k, Kh kh, Kp kp, L l, M m, N n, Ng ng, Ny ny, O o, P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, Shy shy, T t, Ts ts, U u, V v, W w, Y y, Z z

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

a

1. should, ought to

a (VAI (animate-subject intransitive))

1. To go to, to go to a place.

• Conditional: aan (first-person aane)

• eya

• Rementer, Jim with Pearson, Bruce L. (2005), “a”, in Grant Leneaux, Raymond Whritenour, editors, The Lenape Talking Dictionary, The Lenape Language Preservation Project

a

1. and
2. the (establishing a parallel between two comparatives)

   starši a mudriši ― the older, the smarter

   dlěje a hórje ― the longer, the worse

• “a” in Soblex

• IPA^(key): [a]

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Á á, àã), E e (É é, Ẽ ẽ), H h, I i (Í í, Ĩ ĩ), J j, K k, M m (Mb mb), N n (Nd nd, Ng ng, Nh nh), O o (Ó ó, Õ õ), P p, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ũ ũ), W w, X x, Y y (Ý ý, Ỹ ỹ)

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

• Audio:

  Duration: 2 seconds.0:02

  (file)

Borrowed from French a.

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

a

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

• (Quốc ngữ letters) chữ cái; A a (À à, Ả ả, àã, Á á, Ạ ạ), Ă ă (Ằ ằ, Ẳ ẳ, Ẵ ẵ, Ắ ắ, Ặ ặ),  â (Ầ ầ, Ẩ ẩ, Ẫ ẫ, Ấ ấ, Ậ ậ), B b, C c (Ch ch), D d, Đ đ, E e (È è, Ẻ ẻ, Ẽ ẽ, É é, Ẹ ẹ), Ê ê (Ề ề, Ể ể, Ễ ễ, Ế ế, Ệ ệ), G g (Gh gh, Gi gi), H h, I i (Ì ì, Ỉ ỉ, Ĩ ĩ, Í í, Ị ị), K k (Kh kh), L l, M m, N n (Ng ng, Ngh ngh, Nh nh), O o (Ò ò, Ỏ ỏ, Õ õ, Ó ó, Ọ ọ), Ô ô (Ồ ồ, Ổ ổ, Ỗ ỗ, Ố ố, Ộ ộ), Ơ ơ (Ờ ờ, Ở ở, Ỡ ỡ, Ớ ớ, Ợ ợ), P p (Ph ph), Q q (Qu qu), R r, S s, T t (Th th, Tr tr), U u (Ù ù, Ủ ủ, Ũ ũ, Ú ú, Ụ ụ), Ư ư (Ừ ừ, Ử ử, Ữ ữ, Ứ ứ, Ự ự), V v, X x, Y y (Ỳ ỳ, Ỷ ỷ, Ỹ ỹ, Ý ý, Ỵ ỵ)

(classifier cái) a • (阿)

1. (rare) a cutting tool consisting of two blades inserted into a long handle to cut grass or to harvest rice synonyms ▲

   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

Borrowed from French are.

a

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

a

1. (rare) to rush or charge forward at synonyms ▲

   Synonyms: sấn, xông

   a vào giật cho bằng được

   to charge in and snatch it at all costs

a

1. (slang, Internet, text messaging) abbreviation of anh

a

1. (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?

a

1. 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!

Borrowed from English a or French à.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. per, a

   a del ― per day, a day

2. by

   a tel ― by twos

• “a”, in Vödabuk (in English, Esperanto, and Volapük)

• (Luutsa, Liivčülä) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
• (Jõgõperä) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
• (Central Votic) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
• (Eastern Votic) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Hyphenation: a

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

a

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

Natural. Compare Russian а (a).

a

1. ah!, oh!
2. oops!
3. ouch!

• aa
• aah
• ah
• haa
• see other Votic letters

• Hallap, V.; Adler, E.; Grünberg, S.; Leppik, M. (2012), Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language]‎^[22], 2nd edition, Tallinn

From Latin ad.

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. at

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

• IPA^(key): /aː/
• Rhymes: -aː

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

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

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

• Other Welsh letters and their names

a f (plural âu)

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

• IPA^(key): /aː/
• Rhymes: -aː

a

1. (colloquial) first-person singular future of mynd

• af (literary)

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

• IPA^(key): /a/
• Rhymes: -a

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

1. and

• ac (used before a vowel)

• IPA^(key): /a/
• Rhymes: -a

a (triggers soft mutation)

1. (relative) that, which, who

   y dyn a welais i ― the man whom I saw

• 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

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

1. (stative) to be cooked
2. (stative) to be done, finished

• IPA^(key): /a/

a

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

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

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[23], Pacific linguistics

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. A letter of the Yao (Africa) alphabet, written in the Latin script.

-a

1. The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of

• This particle agrees in class with the noun preceding it.

• IPA^(key): /æ/

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• 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/

• (Latin-script letters) A a, â, b, Ch ch, D d, e, é, ê, Gh gh, i, î, j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ń ń, o, ó, P p, T t, U u, V v, W w, Y y, ꞉

From Middle English þe, from Old English þe.

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

• IPA^(key): /ə/, /ðə/, /ðeː/, /ðiː/, /ð/, /iː/

a

1. the, in later times the. quotations ▼
   • 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,

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

• e

• IPA^(key): /ə/

a

1. one quotations ▼
   • 1867, “GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY“, page 30:

     A chi of barach,

     A chi of barach.

   • 1867, “GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY“, page 36:

     A big dole,

     A great deal.

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

• IPA^(key): /ə/

a

1. on quotations ▼
   • 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.

2. of quotations ▼
   • 2005, Jacob Poole Of Growtown - And the Yola Dialect‎^[24]:

     Nich th' hia thoras a Culpake

     Nigh the tall thistles of Culpake.

a

1. alternative form of thaaye (“they”) quotations ▼
   • 1867, “GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY“, page 32:

     A war cowdealeen wi ooree.

     They were scolding with one another.

• 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, &c.

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

á

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

• (Latin-script letters) lẹ́tà; A a (Á á, À à, Ā ā), B b, D d, E e (É é, È è, Ē ē), Ẹ ẹ (Ẹ́ ẹ́, Ẹ̀ ẹ̀, Ẹ̄ ẹ̄), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Ī ī), J j, K k, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ō ō), Ọ ọ (Ọ́ ọ́, Ọ̀ ọ̀, Ọ̄ ọ̄), P p, R r, S s, Ṣ ṣ, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Ū ū), W w, Y y
• (Benin)
• (Latin-script letters) lɛ́tà; A a, B b, D d, E e, Ɛ ɛ, F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i, J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ɔ ɔ, P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, U u, W w, Y y
• (Latin-script letter names) lẹ́tà; á, bí, dí, é, ẹ́, fí, gí, gbì, hí, í, jí, kí, lí, mí, ní, ó, ọ́, pí, rí, sí, ṣí, tí, ú, wí, yí

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

• IPA^(key): /ā/

a

1. 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.

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.

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

a

1. him, her, it (third-person singular non-honorific object pronoun following a monosyllabic verb with a high-tone /a/) synonym ▲

   Synonym: (honorific) wọn

   Àá bá a sọ̀rọ̀ l'ọ́sẹ̀ t'ó ń bọ̀.

   We'll talk to him next week.

á

1. him, her, it (third-person singular non-honorific object pronoun following a monosyllabic verb with a low- or mid-tone /a/) synonym ▲

   Synonym: (honorific) wọn

   Wọ́n ti pa á o! ― They've killed her!

   Ǹj'ó o kà á? ― Did you read it?

a

1. you (second-person singular pronoun)

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• see other Zazaki letters

a f

1. she

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /ʔa˨˦/

Compare Chinese 鴉 / 鸦 (yā).

a (Sawndip forms 𮬨 or 鵶 or ⿰下鳥 or 蚜)

1. crow

• roegga

a (Sawndip form 妸)

1. (dialectal) mother

a

1. used to express questions

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔa, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ʔa.

• IPA^(key): [ʔʌ̄]
• Hyphenation: a

a

1. The third-person verbal concord: he, she, they
2. The third-person singular possessive determiner: his, her

• Philip Thangliènmâng (2010), Minimal dictionary and Self-tutor Functional Grammar in Zo-English-Hindi, New Delhi: Zoculsin, →ISBN, page 131
• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou (PhD thesis), Canchipur: Manipur University, page 71

a (lower case, upper case A)

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

• see other Zulu letters

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