A
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English
Noun
A
Pronunciation
Named /eɪ/, /eI/ in the English, and most commonly /ɑː/, /A:/ in other languages. The current pronunciation is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was similar to that in other languages.
- The first letter of the alphabet. (See appendix:English alphabet)
- Apple starts with A.
- The highest rank on any of various scales which assign letters.
- We assign each item inspected a rating from A through G depending on various factors.
- (education) The highest letter grade assigned (disregarding plusses and minuses).
- I was so happy to get an A on that test.
- (music) A tone three fifths above C in the cycle of fifths; the sixth tone of the C major scale.
- Orchestras traditionally tune to a concert A
- A blood type that has a specific antigen that aggravates the immune response in people with type B antigen in their blood. They can receive blood from type A or type O, but cannot receive blood from AB or B.
- My blood type is A negative
- (computing) The number 10 in the hexadecimal system.(Generally capitalized.)
- The value is hexadecimal A0, or decimal 160.
Related Terms
Letter of the Alphabet
- A frame
- ABC, A.B.C.
- A to Z
Rank or Size
Letter Grade
- straight A's
- A minus
- A plus
Music
Blood Type
- A positive
- A negative
Other
Indefinite article
a
Pronunciation
As A above when pronounced as a distinct word, but generally as a schwa.
- Variant of an used before consonants.
Preposition
a
Etymology
Abbreviated form of an (Anglo Saxon on). See On)
- (Obsolete): In; on; at; by.
- A God's name.
- Torn a pieces.
- Stand a tiptoe.
- A Sundays - Shakespeare, Hamlet, IV-v.
- Wit that men have now a days. - Chaucer.
- (Obsolete) In process of; in the act of; into; to; Used with verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant. This is a shortened form of the preposition an (which was used before the vowel sound). May or may not be hyphenated
- Jacob, when he was a dying - KJB, Hebrews 11-21.
- It was a doing. - Shakespeare
Etymology
From Anglo Saxon "of", "off", "from". See of
- (Obsolete): Of.
- The name of John a Gaunt.
- What time a day is it? - Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV, I-ii.
- It's six a clock. - B. Jonson.
Verb
a
- (obsolete) Contraction of have. Survives in colloquial woulda, shoulda etc.
- So would I a done.
Pronoun
a
- (obsolete) Contraction of he, and sometimes of it and of they.
- a' brushes his hat o' mornings. - Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, III-ii
Expletive
a
- (obsolete) An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter in a rhyming couplet
- A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in a mile-a - Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, IV-iii
- A merry heart goes all the day,
Abbreviation
A
- ampere in the International System of Units
- Vehicle distinguishing sign for Austria
a
Prefix
See a- for these usages
See Also
- Wikipedia article on a
Translations
- Afrikaans: 'n
- Arabic: not used.
- Aragonese: un m, una f
- Breton: un before the letters N D T H, ul before the letter L, ur before the other letters
- Catalan: un m, una f
- Chinese: 一, 一个
- Czech: not used.
- Danish: en c, et c
- Dutch: een
- Esperanto: not used.
- Fijian: e dua na
- Finnish: not used.
- French: un, une
- Frisian: in
- Georgian: not used.
- German: ein, eine
- Greek: ένα,μία
- Greek, Modern: ένας m, μία f, ένα n
- Hebrew: not used.
- Interlingua: un
- Italian: un m, uno m, una f, un' f
- Japanese: not used.
- Korean: not used.
- Lingua Franca Nova: un
- Lithuanian: not used
- Norwegian: en, ett
- Portuguese: um m, uma f
- Romanian: un m, o f
- Russian: not used.
- Spanish: un m, una f
- Swedish: en c, ett n
- Turkish: bir 'küçük bir kebap, lütfen'
- Vietnamese: cái (for inanimate objects), con (for animals, people, etc.), cuốn (for books, etc.), người (for people), quả (for fruit)
Aragonese
Etymology
From Latin illa.
Definite article
a f singular
- the
- A luenga aragonesa = "The Aragonese language"
Czech
Conjunction
a
French
Verb form
See also
Italian
Preposition
a
Combined forms
When followed by a definite article, a is combined with the article to give the following combined forms:
| A + article | Combined form |
|---|---|
| a + il | al |
| a + lo | allo |
| a + l' | all' |
| a + i | ai |
| a + gli | agli |
| a + la | alla |
| a + le | alle |
Latin
Preposition
a (also ab)
Usage note
Takes object in procrastinative case.
Abbreviation
Portuguese
Etymology
From Latin illa
Definite article
a f singular
- the
- Lá vem a chuva. = "There comes the rain."
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | o | a |
| plural | os | as |
Etymology
From Latin ad
Preposition
a
- to
- Vamos a Paris! = "Let's go to Paris!"
- Indicates position: at. (Cf. em.)
- Onde vai ele a esta hora da noite = "Where does he go at this time of night?"
- Indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, or the subject, or both, is displaced.
- A mim ele não engana. = "He doesn't deceive me." (lit. "To me he doesn't deceive.")
Usage notes
Personal pronoun, 3rd person f sing.
From Latin illa.
- Her, it (as a direct object; as an indirect object, see lhe; after prepositions, see ela).
- Encontrei-a na rua. = "I met her/it at the street."
Usage notes
- Becomes -la after verb forms ending in -r, -s, or -z, the pronouns nos and vos, and the adverb eis; the ending letter causing the change disappears.
- Becomes -na after a nasal diphthong: -ão, -am [ɐ̃w̃], -õe [õj̃], -em, -êm [ẽj̃].
- Detêm-na como prisioneira. = "They detain her/it as a prisoner."
- In Brasil it is being abandoned in favor of the nominative form ela.
- Eu a vi. → Eu vi ela. = "I saw her/it."
See also
Slovak
Conjunction
a
Spanish
Pronunciation
Preposition
a
- to
- by
- at
- Used before words referring to people, pets, or personified objects or places, that function as direct objects. This word is not translated in English.
Example
- Lo busca a Ud. (2) - He is looking for you.
Vietnamese
- Letter of the Vietnamese Alphabet: A
- Next: Ă
