English Dictionary, English English Dictionary
Definition of " a " in English Dictionary
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 English » English |
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| A |  The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter [a], besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek Alpha, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter [/] of the Phoenician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the a sound, the Phoenician alphabet having no vowel symbols. |
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| A | The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale [that in C], or the first tone of the minor scale, which is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. -- A sharp [A/] is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. -- A flat [A/] is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G. |
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| A | An adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and signifying one or any, but less emphatically. |
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| A | In each; to or for each; as, "twenty leagues a day", "a hundred pounds a year", "a dollar a yard", etc. |
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| A | In; on; at; by. |
prep. |
| A | 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]; as in a hunting, a building, a begging. |
prep. |
| A | Of. |
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| A | A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it and of they. |
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| A | An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter |
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| English » English |
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| A | The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter [a], besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek Alpha, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter [/] of the Phoenician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the a sound, the Phoenician alphabet having no vowel symbols. |
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| A | The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale [that in C], or the first tone of the minor scale, which is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. -- A sharp [A/] is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. -- A flat [A/] is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G. |
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| A | An adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and signifying one or any, but less emphatically. |
|
| A | In each; to or for each; as, "twenty leagues a day", "a hundred pounds a year", "a dollar a yard", etc. |
|
| A | In; on; at; by. |
prep. |
| A | 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]; as in a hunting, a building, a begging. |
prep. |
| A | Of. |
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| A | A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it and of they. |
|
| A | An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter |
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| Indirect results | ||
| English » English |
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| 'Gainst | A contraction of Against. | prep. |
| 'Neath | An abbreviation of Beneath. | prep. & adv. |
| 'Sdeath | An exclamation expressive of impatience or anger. | interj. |
| 'Snails | God's nails, or His nails, that is, the nails with which the Savior was fastened to the cross; -- an ancient form of oath, corresponding to 'Od's bodikins [dim. of body, i.e., God's dear body]. | interj. |
| 'T was | A contraction of it was. | |
| 'Twixt-brain | The thalamen/cephalon. | n. |
| ], a game played with such pieces; pushpin. | ||
| , a , or an . PCP. It is presumably an older spelling of scanned. --2. | Specifically [Pros.], to go through with, as a verse, marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is composed; to show, in reading, the metrical structure of; to recite metrically. | |
| , a , or an . PCP. It is presumably an older spelling of scanned. --2. Specifically [Pros.], to go through with, as a verse, marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is composed; to show, in reading, the metrical structure of; to recite metrically | To go over and examine point by point; to examine with care; to look closely at or into; to scrutinize. | |
| -able | An adjective suffix now usually in a passive sense; able to be; fit to be; expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense; as, movable, able to be moved; amendable, able to be amended; blamable, fit to be blamed; salable. | |
| -ably | A suffix composed of -able and the adverbial suffix -ly; as, favorably. | |
| -ana | A suffix to names of persons or places, used to denote a collection of notable sayings, literary gossip, anecdotes, etc. Thus, Scaligerana is a book containing the sayings of Scaliger, Johnsoniana of Johnson, etc. | |
| -ance | A suffix signifying action; also, quality or state; as, assistance, resistance, appearance, elegance. See -ancy. | |
| -ances | of Discrepancy | pl. |
| -ancies | of Discrepancy | pl. |
| -ancy | A suffix expressing more strongly than -ance the idea of quality or state; as, constancy, buoyancy, infancy. | |
| -ant | A suffix sometimes marking the agent for action; as, merchant, covenant, servant, pleasant, etc. Cf. -ent. | |
| -arch | A suffix meaning a ruler, as in monarch [a sole ruler]. | a. |
| -ard | Alt. of -art | |
| -art | The termination of many English words; as, coward, reynard, drunkard, mostly from the French, in which language this ending is of German origin, being orig. the same word as English hard. It usually has the sense of one who has to a high or excessive degree the quality expressed by the root; as, braggart, sluggard. | |
| English » English |
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| 'Gainst | A contraction of Against. | prep. |
| 'Neath | An abbreviation of Beneath. | prep. & adv. |
| 'Sdeath | An exclamation expressive of impatience or anger. | interj. |
| 'Snails | God's nails, or His nails, that is, the nails with which the Savior was fastened to the cross; -- an ancient form of oath, corresponding to 'Od's bodikins [dim. of body, i.e., God's dear body]. | interj. |
| 'T was | A contraction of it was. | |
| 'Twixt-brain | The thalamen/cephalon. | n. |
| ], a game played with such pieces; pushpin. | ||
| , a , or an . PCP. It is presumably an older spelling of scanned. --2. | Specifically [Pros.], to go through with, as a verse, marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is composed; to show, in reading, the metrical structure of; to recite metrically. | |
| , a , or an . PCP. It is presumably an older spelling of scanned. --2. Specifically [Pros.], to go through with, as a verse, marking and distinguishing the feet of which it is composed; to show, in reading, the metrical structure of; to recite metrically | To go over and examine point by point; to examine with care; to look closely at or into; to scrutinize. | |
| -able | An adjective suffix now usually in a passive sense; able to be; fit to be; expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense; as, movable, able to be moved; amendable, able to be amended; blamable, fit to be blamed; salable. | |
| -ably | A suffix composed of -able and the adverbial suffix -ly; as, favorably. | |
| -ana | A suffix to names of persons or places, used to denote a collection of notable sayings, literary gossip, anecdotes, etc. Thus, Scaligerana is a book containing the sayings of Scaliger, Johnsoniana of Johnson, etc. | |
| -ance | A suffix signifying action; also, quality or state; as, assistance, resistance, appearance, elegance. See -ancy. | |
| -ances | of Discrepancy | pl. |
| -ancies | of Discrepancy | pl. |
| -ancy | A suffix expressing more strongly than -ance the idea of quality or state; as, constancy, buoyancy, infancy. | |
| -ant | A suffix sometimes marking the agent for action; as, merchant, covenant, servant, pleasant, etc. Cf. -ent. | |
| -arch | A suffix meaning a ruler, as in monarch [a sole ruler]. | a. |
| -ard | Alt. of -art | |
| -art | The termination of many English words; as, coward, reynard, drunkard, mostly from the French, in which language this ending is of German origin, being orig. the same word as English hard. It usually has the sense of one who has to a high or excessive degree the quality expressed by the root; as, braggart, sluggard. | |