A, a

[ey] /e/
IPA Syllables

Word Origin

noun, plural A's or As, a's or as.

1.
the first letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
2.
any spoken sound represented by the letter A or a, as in bake, hat, father, or small.
3.
something having the shape of an A .
4.
a written or printed representation of the letter A or a.
5.
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter A or a.
Idioms
6.
from A to Z, from beginning to end; thoroughly; completely:
He knows the Bible from A to Z.
7.
not know from A to B, to know nothing; be ignorant.

a1
[uh; when stressed ey] /; when stressed e/
IPA Syllables
indefinite article
1.
not any particular or certain one of a class or group:
a man; a chemical; a house.
2.
a certain; a particular:
one at a time; two of a kind; A Miss Johnson called.
3.
another; one typically resembling:
a Cicero in eloquence; a Jonah.
4.
one (used before plural nouns that are preceded by a quantifier singular in form): a
hundred men (compare hundreds of men); a dozen times (compare dozens of times).
5.
indefinitely or nonspecifically (used with adjectives expressing number):
a great many years; a few stars.
6.
one (used before a noun expressing quantity):

a yard of ribbon; a score of times.

7.
any; a single:
not a one.
Origin of a1 Expand
Middle English
Middle English; orig. preconsonantal phonetic variant of an1
Usage note Expand
In both spoken and written English the choice of a1 or an1 is determined by the initial
sound of the word that follows. Before a consonant sound, a is used; before a vowel
sound, an: a book, a rose; an apple, an opera. Problems arise occasionally when the
following word begins with a vowel letter but actually starts with a consonant sound,
or vice versa. Some words beginning with the vowel letter u and all words beginning
with the vowel letters eu are pronounced with a beginning consonant sound, as if the
first letter were y: a union; a European. Some other spellings that begin with a vowel
letter may also stand for an initial consonant sound: a ewe; a ewer. The words one and
once and all compounds of which they are the first element begin with a w sound: a
one-room apartment; a once-famous actor.
The names of the consonant letters f, h, l, m, n, r, s, and x are pronounced with a
beginning vowel sound. When these letters are used as words or to form words, they
are preceded by an: to rent an L-shaped studio; to fly an SST. The names of the vowel
letter u and the semivowel letters w and y are pronounced with a beginning consonant
sound. When used as words, they are preceded by a: a U-turn; The plumber installed a
Y in the line.
In some words beginning with the letter h, the h is not pronounced; the words actually
begin with a vowel sound: an hour; an honor. When the h is strongly pronounced, as
in a stressed syllable at the beginning of a word, it is preceded by a: a history of the
Sioux; a hero sandwich. (In former times an was used before strongly pronounced h in
a stressed first syllable: an hundred. ) Such adjectives as historic, historical, heroic,
and habitual, which begin with an unstressed syllable and often with a silent or
weakly pronounced h, are commonly preceded by an, especially in British English.
But the use of a rather than an is widespread in both speech and writing: a historical
novel; a habitual criminal. Hotel and unique are occasionally preceded by an, but this
use is increasingly old-fashioned. Although in some dialects an has yielded to a in all
cases, edited writing reflects usage as described above.

a2
[uh; when stressed ey] /; when stressed e/
IPA Syllables
preposition
1.
each; every; per:
ten cents a sheet; three times a day.
Origin Expand
orig. Middle English a, preconsonantal variant of on (see a-1); confused with a1

a3

[uh] //
IPA Syllables
preposition
1.
Pronunciation Spelling. a reduced, unstressed form of of (often written as part of a
single, unhyphenated word):
cloth a gold; time a day; kinda; sorta.
Origin Expand
Middle English; unstressed preconsonantal variant of of1

a4
[uh] //
IPA Syllables
auxiliary verb, Pronunciation Spelling.
1.
a reduced, unstressed form of auxiliary have, following some modals, as might,
should, could, would, and must (usually written as part of a single, unhyphenated
word):
We shoulda gone.
Expand
Compare of2 .
Origin Expand
Middle English; phonetic variant of have

a5
[uh, a, ah] /, , /
IPA Syllables
pronoun, British Dialect
1.
he.
2.
she.
3.
it.
4.
they.
5.
I.
Origin Expand
Middle English a, ha

a'
[ah, aw] /, /
IPA Syllables
adjective

1.
Scot. all:
for a' that.

A
1.
Electricity. ampere; amperes.
2.
Physics. angstrom.
3.
answer.
4.
British. arterial (used with a road number to designate a major highway):
Take the A525 to Ruthin.

A
Symbol.
1.
the first in order or in a series.
2.
(sometimes lowercase) (in some grading systems) a grade or mark, as in school or
college, indicating the quality of a student's work as excellent or superior.
3.
(sometimes lowercase) (in some school systems) a symbol designating the first
semester of a school year.
4.
Music.
1. the sixth tone in the scale of C major or the first tone in the relative minor
scale, A minor.
2. a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.
3. a written or printed note representing this tone.
4. (in the fixed system of solmization) the sixth tone of the scale of C major,
called la.
5. the tonality having A as the tonic note.
5.
Physiology. a major blood group, usually enabling a person whose blood is of this
type to donate blood to persons of group A or AB and to receive blood from persons
of O or A.
Compare ABO system.
6.
(sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 50 or 500.

Compare Roman numerals.

7.
Chemistry. (formerly) argon.
8.
Chemistry, Physics. mass number.
9.
Biochemistry.
1. adenine.
2. alanine.
10.
Logic. universal affirmative.
11.
British. a designation for a motion picture recommended as suitable for adults.
Compare AA (def 5), U (def 5), X (def 9).
12.
a proportional shoe width size, narrower than B and wider than AA.
13.
a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than B and larger than AA.
14.
a quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond, lower than AA and higher than
BBB.

a
Measurements
1.
are; ares.

a
Symbol, Logic.
1.
universal affirmative.

Symbol, Physics.
1.
angstrom.

A1.
atomic (used in combination):
A-bomb; A-plant.

a-1
1.
a reduced form of the Old English preposition on, meaning on, in, into, to,
toward, preserved before a noun in a prepositional phrase, forming a predicate
adjective or an adverbial element (afoot; abed; ashore; aside; away), or before an
adjective (afar; aloud; alow), as a moribund prefix with a verb (acknowledge), and in
archaic and dialectal use before a present participle in -ing (set the bells aringing); and
added to a verb stem with the force of a present participle (ablaze; agape; aglow;
astride; and originally, awry).
Origin Expand
Middle English, late Old English; cf. a2, nowadays

a-2
1.
a reduced form of the Old English preposition of: akin; afresh; anew.
Origin Expand
Middle English; see a3

a-3
1.
an old point-action prefix, not referring to an act as a whole, but only to the beginning
or end: She arose (rose up). They abided by their beliefs (remained faithful to the
end).
Origin Expand
Middle English; Old English a- (unstressed), -, -, - (stressed; see abb, woof1,
oakum), rarely or- (see ordeal) Germanic *uz- < unstressed Indo-European *uss- <
*ud-s, akin to out; in some cases confused with a-4, as in abridge

a-4
1.
variant of ab- before p and v: aperient; avert.
Origin Expand
Middle English < Latin -, a- (variant of ab- ab-); in some words < French a- < Latin
ab-, as in abridge

a-5
1.
variant of ad-, used: (1) before sc, sp, st (ascend) and (2) in words of French
derivation (often with the sense of increase, addition):
amass.
Origin Expand

Middle English, in some words < Middle French a- < Latin ad- prefix or ad
preposition (see ad-), as in abut; in others < Latin a- (variant of ad- ad-), as in ascend

a-6
1.
variant of an-1. before a consonant, meaning not, without:
amoral; atonal; achromatic.

-a1
1.
a plural ending of nouns borrowed from Greek and Latin:
phenomena; criteria; data; errata; genera.

-a2
1.
a feminine singular ending of nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek, also used in
Neo-Latin coinages to Latinize bases of any origin, and as a Latin substitute for the
feminine ending - of Greek words:
anabaena; cinchona; pachysandra.

-a3
1.
an ending of personal names forming feminines from masculines:
Georgia; Roberta.
Origin Expand
< L feminine -a (see -a2), as Claudia, feminine of Claudius

-a4
1.
a suffix designating the oxide of the chemical element denoted by the stem:
alumina; ceria; thoria.
Origin Expand
probably generalized from the -a of magnesia

A.1
1.
year.
Origin Expand
< Latin ann, ablative of annus

A.2
1.
before.
Origin Expand
< Latin ante

A.3
1.
Absolute.