a

a

a¹ or A [ā]

n.

pl. A's, a's [āz]

1. the first letter of the English alphabet: from the Greek alpha, a borrowing from the Phoenician

2. any of the speech sounds that this letter represents, as, in English, the vowel (a) of hat, (ä) of father, (ā) of bake, or (ô) of call

3. a type or impression for a or A

4. the first in a sequence or group

5. an object shaped like A

adj.

1. of a or A

2. first in a sequence or group

3. shaped like A

——————

from A to Z

from beginning to end; completely; exhaustively

a² [ə; ] stressed [, ā]

adj., indefinite article

[form of an before consonants: see AN¹, adj.]

1. one; one sort of [we planted a tree]

2. each; any one [a gun is dangerous ]: a connotes a thing not previously noted or recognized, in contrast with the, which connotes a thing previously noted or recognized

prep.

[< OE an, on, in, on, at]

to each; in each; for each; per [once a day]: Before words beginning with a consonant sound or a sounded h, a is used [a child, a home, a uniform, a eunuch ]; before words beginning with a vowel sound or a silent h, an is used [an ultimatum, an honor ]

a³ or a' [ô, ä]

adj.

Scot. all

a⁴

abbrev.

1. about

2. absent

3. Physics acceleration

4. active

5. adjective

6. adult

7. alto

8. anonymous

9. answer

10. are (unit of area)

11. atto-