a

a U+0061, a LATIN SMALL LETTER A ← ` Basic Latin b →

Character variations

ᵃ U+1D43, ᵃ MODIFIER LETTER SMALL A ← ᵂ Phonetic Extensions ᵄ →

ａ U+FF41, ａ FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER A ← ｀ Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｂ →

Some typefaces have a single-story form of a. This has a dedicated Unicode character ⟨ɑ⟩ for IPA use.

Modification of capital A.

• Pronunciation of IPA :

  (file)

a (upper case A)

1. The first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

   (superscript) See ª.

a

1. (IPA, phonetics) an open front or central unrounded vowel.
2. (IPA, superscript ⟨ᵃ⟩) -coloring or a weak, fleeting, epenthetic or echo .
3. (international standards) transliterates Indic अ (or equivalent).

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter A):   Áá  Àà  Ââ  Ǎǎ  Ăă  Ãã  Ảả  Ȧȧ  Ạạ  Ää  Åå  Ḁḁ  Āā  Ąą  ᶏ  Ⱥⱥ  Ȁȁ  Ấấ  Ầầ  Ẫẫ  Ẩẩ  Ậậ  Ắắ  Ằằ  Ẵẵ  Ẳẳ  Ặặ  Ǻǻ  Ǡǡ  Ǟǟ  Ȁȁ  Ȃȃ  Ɑɑ  ᴀ  Ɐɐ  ɒ  Ａａ Ææ  Ǽǽ  Ǣǣ  Ꜳꜳ  Ꜵꜵ  Ꜷꜷ  Ꜹꜹ  Ꜻꜻ
• For more variations, see Appendix:Variations of "a".

• a on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• open front unrounded vowel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Abbreviation of atto-, from Danish atten (“eighteen”).

a

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

From Latin annum or annus.

a

1. Year as a unit of time, specifically a Julian year or 365.25 days.

Abbreviation of are, from French are.

a

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

Abbreviation of English acceleration.

a

1. (physics) acceleration

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

a

1. (actuarial notation) Annuity; (specifically) annuity-immediate.

   a_x:n̅| ― n-year annuity-immediate to a person currently age x

   a_x ― life annuity-immediate to a person currently age x

Other representations of A:

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of A, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur
• 
  Approximate form of Greek uppercase Α (a, “alpha”), the source of both common variants of a A in uncial script

The letter name is from Middle English ā, from Old French, ultimately from Latin ā. Use of the Latin letter in (Old) English displaced the futhorc letter ᚪ (a) beginning in the 7th century, and partially also ᚫ (æ).

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

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈæɪ/
  • (Canada) IPA^(key):
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

  The current pronunciation resulted from the Great Vowel Shift. Before the early part of the 17th century, the pronunciation was similar to that in other languages.

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /æ/, /ɑː/, /eɪ/, /ə/, etc.

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

1. The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.
   • 1917, John Wesley Young, Frank Millett Morgan, Elementary Mathematical Analysis, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, page 487:

     This expression is zero, for we have replaced the column of a's by the column of b's and hence the determinant has two columns identical.

   • 1926, George Kelly, Craig's Wife, Act I, page 5:

     Passmore. Capital P-a-double s-m-o-r-e.

   • 1974, Ervin A. Dennis, John D. Jenkins, “A Font of Type”, in Comprehensive Graphic Arts, Indianapolis, I.N.: Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., →ISBN, page 26, column 2:

     Note that with 18-point type, fifteen capital A's, twenty-five lowercase a's, and twelve 1's are obtained with one font. With this information, it is possible to refer to Table 10-1 which gives the number of characters for each letter, punctuation mark, or figure.

   • 2013, Margaret McPhee, Mistress to the Marquis, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Historical, →ISBN, page 249:

     Across every sheet of paper were lines and lines of letters of the alphabet. A row of a's followed by a row of b's and so on, pages of them, like pages from a copy book, crudely formed as if from the hand of a young child.

   • 2014 February 23, Rivka Galchen, “What’s Become of the So-Called Literary Bad Boy?”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-02-19:

     In the seventh grade I admired a charismatic, witty girl who had a particular way of writing her lowercase a's. After some practice, I took to writing my lowercase a's in the same fashion.

• In English, the letter a usually denotes the near-open front unrounded vowel (IPA^(key): /æ/), as in pad, the open back unrounded vowel (IPA^(key): /ɑː/) as in father, the mid-central vowel (IPA^(key): /ə/) when unstressed as in about, or, when followed by another vowel, the diphthong IPA^(key): /eɪ/, as in ace.
• A is the third most common letter in English.

• Digraph sequences: ae, ah, ai, au, aw, ay, ea, eau, ia, oa, ua

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

a (lower case, upper case A)

1. The ordinal number first, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

a (plural a's or (rare) aes)

1. The name of the Latin script letter A / a.
   • 1816, William Young Ottley, An Inquiry Into the Origin and Early History of Engraving , volume II, London: John and Arthur Arch,  by J. M'Creery, page 621:

     This piece somewhat resembles an a. On the left is a man seated on the ground, with a dog between his legs, and a large bird of prey in his hands, which appears to be biting his head.

   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Epic”, in Poems. , volume II, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC, page 2:

     But with some prelude of disparagement, / Read, mouthing out his hollow oes and aes, / Deep-chested music, and to this result.

   • Irvine, “Abbreviations in General”, in The Magazine Style Code: A Manual For The Guidance Of Authors, Reporters And All Who Write, San Francisco, C.A.: Crown Publishing Company, pages 15–16:

     Letters should be spelled as follows; aes, bees, cees, dees, ees, efs, gees, aitches, ies, jays, kays, els, ems, ens, oes, pees, ques, ars, esses, tees, ues, vees, ws or dubleyuz, exes, wyes, zees.]

   • 1993, Frank Pagden, “Teaching”, in The Gospel According to St. Lynas, Tunbridge Wells: Mitre, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     St Lynas was chatting with a group of rebellious young college students one day, who decried the moral standards of the past. ¶ So St Lynas drew an 'a' on some paper, and asked them what it was. ¶ 'A' they said.

   • 2023, Amanda Stevens, Secret of Shutter Lake, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Intrigue, →ISBN, page 237:

     Compare Lydia's signature on some of the work orders with the warning notes. The loop through the lowercase a is similar. See what I mean?

• (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee/zed ^{(Category: en:Latin letter names)}

From Middle English a, an, from Old English ān (“one; a; lone; sole”). More at one. The "n" was gradually lost before consonants in almost all dialects by the 15th century. Cognate with Alemannic German a (“a, an”), East Franconian a (“a, an”).

• (stressed) IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ/
• (unstressed) IPA^(key): /ə/

• Audio (US, stressed form):

  (file)

• Audio (US, unstressed form):

  (file)

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

a

1. An unspecified example of (something); the indefinite article. ^[1]

   There was a man here looking for you yesterday.

   • 1835, [Washington Irving], chapter XX, in A Tour on the Prairies (The Crayon Miscellany; no. 1), Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 151:

     He had another formidable difficulty in getting him across the river, where both horses stuck for a time in the mire, and Beatte was nearly unseated from his saddle by the force of the current and the struggles of his captive.

   • 1859 December 13, Charles Dickens, “The Mortals in the House”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round , volume II, London: C Whiting, , →OCLC, page 6, column 1:

     The young man thanked me, and took his leave with some little precipitation, after declining a glass of liquor.

   • 1868 January 4 – June 6, Wilkie Collins, “(please specify the page) [Fourth Narrative. Extracted from the Journal of Ezra Jennings.]”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. , volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, , published 1868, →OCLC, page 185:

     Speaking as a servant, I am deeply indebted to you. Speaking as a man, I consider you to be a person whose head is full of maggots, and I take up my testimony against your experiment as a delusion and a snare.

   • 1992, Rudolf M Schuster, “Preface”, in The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:

     With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]

   • 2005, Emily Kingsley (lyricist), Kevin Clash (voice actor), “A Cookie is a Sometime Food”, Sesame Street, season 36, Sesame Workshop:

     Hoots the Owl: Yes a, fruit, is a , any, time, food!

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Anna, do you have a pen? — Yes. I have a pen in my bag. I have a (stressed) …

     Audio (US):

     (file)

   • 2023 March 9, Moya Lothian-Mclean, “A nose ring, a bicycle, a Radiohead album: I'm becoming a total cliche – and I quite like it”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-11:

     In retrospect, I realise, I had been unconsciously devoting a large amount of energy to negative choice, a concept I'm borrowing and adapting from sociologist Eva Illouz's 2019 treatise, The End of Love (by way of a viral Paris Review essay).

   • 2024 May 21, Sarah Larson, “When the C.I.A. Turned Writers Into Operatives”, in The New Yorker‎, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-21:

     The C.I.A. infiltrated not just magazines, radio, and movies but youth organizations and movements like Abstract Expressionism; all were meant to inspire a reverence for democracy and freedom, a project that, in Walker's telling, often tips into absurdity.

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

   I've seen it happen a hundred times.

   • 1945, Peter Cheyney, Sinister Errand, London: Collins, published 1952, page 8:

     Everybody drinks a lot in wartime, but it seemed to me that I must have drunk enough to float a couple of battleships.

   • 1999, Sara Hylton, Separate Lives, London: Piatkus, →ISBN, page 93:

     You've seen it a dozen times already.

   • 2024 February 27, “The economics of skiing in America”, in The Economist‎, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 May 2024:

     By the time he gets onto a chair, the pristine powder snow below the lift has already been chopped up by a hundred tracks, and the line to get back up stretches the length of a football field.

3. Used in some phrases denoting quantity, such as a few, a good many, a couple, a little, a bit, etc.

   He's a bit thick, isn't he?

   They asked me a few questions.

   • 1869, Louisa M Alcott, “My Lord and Lady”, in Little Women: , part second, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 315:

     But I was going to say, that while I was dawdling about abroad, I saw a good many talented young fellows making all sorts of sacrifices, and enduring real hardships, that they might realize their dreams. Splendid fellows, some of them, working like heroes, poor and friendless, but so full of courage, patience and ambition, that I was ashamed of myself, and longed to give them a right good lift.

   • 1989, Robert T. Michael, Heidi I Hartmann, Brigid O'Farrell, editors, Pay Equity: Empirical Inquiries, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, →ISBN, page 3, column 2:

     The main influence here is job tenure—the men had been at their specific jobs a good while longer than the women.

   • 2024 February 13, René M. van Westen, Henk A. Dijkstra, Michael Kliphuis, “If the Atlantic Ocean Loses Circulation, What Happens Next?”, in Scientific American‎, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 February 2024:

     Twenty years after the movie's release, we know a lot more about the Atlantic Ocean's circulation. Instruments deployed in the ocean starting in 2004 show that the Atlantic Ocean circulation has observably slowed over the past two decades, possibly to its weakest state in almost a millennium.

   1. Used before a numeral.

      There are a few hundred orders that need to be fulfilled by tomorrow.

      • 1934, Alan Villiers, Whalers of the Midnight Sun: , New York, N.Y., London: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 154:

        The blues were eating leisurely, swimming about and opening their great mouths, spouting and filling their enormous stomachs with intense satisfaction. They had no idea of danger. There must have been about fifteen of them, peacefully feeding. One of them, its belly gorged probably with a few trillion plankton, seemed to be lying asleep on the surface.

      • 2020 July 31, Brian Friedberg, “The Dark Virality of a Hollywood Blood-Harvesting Conspiracy”, in Wired‎, San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-15:

        The impact of hidden virality can't be stopped by retroactively banning a few thousand Twitter accounts; it is an iterative, memetic phenomenon that outpaces terms of service.

      • 2023, Don Winslow, City of Dreams, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 332:

        That was on the first day's walk. It took him until day three, after a good ten miles, to ask her out.

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

   The door was opened a little.

   • 1978, Deane H. Shapiro, Jr., Precision Nirvana, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc., →ISBN, page 104:

     If, for example, you ask a child what he likes to do, he may say he doesn't know. However, if you watch him during free time, and note that he plays basketball a lot, you may infer that this is a high-probability behavior, and he finds it reinforcing.

   • 2009, James H. S. McGregor, Paris From the Ground Up, Cambridge, M.A., London: Belknap Press, →ISBN, page 163:

     The bridge was shifted a bit to the east and rebuilt, this time with the shops of money-changers along both sides.

   • 2023 January 13, Dana G. Smith, “Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health, Research Shows”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-10:

     You don't need to go cold turkey to help your health. Even reducing a little bit can be beneficial, especially if you currently drink over the recommended limits.

5. The same; one and the same. Used in phrases such as of a kind, birds of a feather, etc.

   We are of a mind on matters of morals.

   They're two of a kind.

6. Any; every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope.^[2]

   A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties.

7. Any; used with a negative to indicate not a single one.^[3]

   It was so dark that we couldn't see a thing.

   He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head?

   • 2001, Stephen Lawhead, The Mystic Rose Book (Celtic Crusades; III), London,  : BCA, page 180:

     No, it is impossible. My conscience would give me not a moment's peace if I let you go. I would never forgive myself.

   • 2014, Sherry D. Ficklin, Queen of Someday: A Stolen Empire Novel, : Clean Teen Publishing, →ISBN, page 116:

     When had my own feelings become so muddled and complicated? Before I take a single step, he catches my arm, turning me to him.

   • 2016, Daphna Rabinovitch, “Fudge Truffle Tart”, in The Baker in Me, Vancouver, B.C.: Whitecap Books, →ISBN, page 204:

     My friend Cindy's husband, Michael Zahavi, a true chocoholic if there ever was one, adores this tart. In fact, when I visited their cottage up in Muskoka, Ontario one summer and brought this along as a treat, he got up in the middle of the night to nosh away at it, leaving us sleepyheads with nary a crumb the next day.

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

   The lottery jackpot is worth a staggering three hundred million dollars.

   The holidays are a mere one week away.

9. One; someone named; used before a person's name, suggesting that the speaker knows little about the person other than the name.^[4]

   We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.

10. Used before an adjective modifying a person's name, typically used to emphasize that person's current condition or emotional state.
    • 1963, Robert Hancock, Ruth Ellis: The Last Woman To Be Hanged, London: Orion, published 1993, →ISBN, page 35:

      At Waterloo she asked George for £5 and said that she would go home by tube, and a relieved George watched her descend the Underground steps.

    • 2016, David J. Bailey, The Storm, London: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd., →ISBN, page 147:

      "There, I think that's done it," declared a triumphant John, "we just need to try it with the bar now, where is it?"

    • 2018, “Rwandan court drops all charges against opposition figure”, in Associated Press:

      "I will continue my campaign to fight for the rights of all Rwandans," a surprised but happy Rwigara told reporters after celebrating.

11. Someone or something like; similar to; used before a proper noun to create an example out of it.^[3]

    The center of the village was becoming a Times Square.

    The man is a regular Romeo.

    • 1987, Frederic V. Grunfeld, Rodin: A Biography, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, page 88:

      [Jules] Pécher actually sculpted a sort of Statue of Liberty for the centerpiece of the monument, but for the rest he thought it advisable to call in Van Rasbourgh, and Rodin thus became a ghost sculptor to a ghost sculptor.

    • 2009, Ed Macy, Hellfire, London: Harper Press, →ISBN, page 134:

      Billy fancied himself as a bit of a Han Solo, but he shook his head. 'Stop being a wuss.' He grinned. 'Your go.'

    • 2020, Laura Erickson, The Love Lives of Birds: Courting and Mating Rituals, North Adams, M.A.: Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 81:

      For the first 5 or 6 days after the eggs hatch, the mother spends most of her time keeping the chicks warm while the father provides most of their meals. All that work may be what prompts the female to leave the family. They share feeding duties more equally during the next week or 10 days, until the young leave the nest. Producing a second batch is easier if she skips the last grueling week or two of provisioning fledglings. She can recharge her batteries by moseying off and, while on vacation, looking for a new Casanova.

• In standard English, the article a is used before consonant sounds, while an is used before vowel sounds; for more, see the usage notes about an.

• From Middle English a, o, from Old English a-, an, on.
• Unstressed form of on.

• IPA^(key): /ə/

a

1. To do with separation; In, into. ^[1]

   torn a pieces

2. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. Often occurs between two nouns, where the first noun occurs at the end of a verbal phrase.^[1]

   I brush my teeth twice a day.

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     A Sundays

   • 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America‎, archived from the original on 7 February 2019:

     Patent requests for machine learning activities grew on average by 28 percent a year between 2013 and 2016, the study found.

     Audio (US):

     (file)

3. To do with status; In. ^[1]
   • King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18)

     To set the people a worke.

4. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. ^[1]

   stand a tiptoe

5. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. ^[1]
   • 1964, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “The Times They Are a-Changin'”:

     The times, they are a-changin'.

6. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. ^[1]
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     It was a doing.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Hebrews 11:21:

     Jacob, when he was a dying

7. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. ^[1]
8. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. ^[1]
   • c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo, edited by Tho Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. , London: I B for Nicholas Vavasour, , published 1633, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     Stands here a purpose.

9. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. ^[1]

   a God’s name

• (position, direction): Can also be attached without a hyphen, as aback, ahorse, afoot. See a-
• (separation): Can also be attached without hyphen, as asunder. See a-
• (status): Can also be attached without hyphen, as afloat, awake. See a-.
• (process): Can also be attached with or without hyphen, as a-changing

• on
• a-

From Middle English a, ha contraction of have, or haven.

• 'a, 'a', ha, ha'

• IPA^(key): /ə/

a

2. (dialectal or slang) Have (auxiliary verb).

   I'd a come, if you'd a asked.

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke:  (First Quarto), London: [Valentine Simmes] for N L and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v], signature H2, recto:

     So would I a done, by yonder Sunne, / If thou hadſt not come to my bed.

   • 1863 May 22 – 1863 June 26, L M Alcott, “A Day”, in Hospital Sketches, Boston, Mass.: James Redpath, , published August 1863, →OCLC, page 36:

     "Well, I reckon it did, marm, for that shot would a gone a couple a inches deeper but for my old mammy's camphor bag," answered the cheerful philosopher.

   • 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) , London: Chatto & Windus, , →OCLC, page 54:

     He dropped below me, with the current, and by-and-by he come a-swinging up shore in the easy water, and he went by so close I could a reached out the gun and touched him.