a-

Derived terms

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Prefix

a-

1. (no longer productive) forming verbs with the sense away, up, on, out

   arise, await

2. (no longer productive) forming verbs with the sense of intensified action.

   abide, amaze

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Prefix

a-

1. (rare or no longer productive) in, on, at; used to show a state, condition, or manner. Also passing into sense 2. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   apace, afire, aboil, a-bling

2. (no longer productive) In, into. Also passing into sense 5. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   asunder

3. In the direction of, or toward. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   astern, abeam

4. (archaic, dialectal) At such a time. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   Come a-morning we are going hunting.

5. (archaic, dialectal) In the act or process of. Being conflated with the next definition, a- is used in some dialects to indicate any participle. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]
   • 1777, Thomas Arne, A-Hunting We Will Go
   • 1780, The Twelve Days of Christmas:

     The twelfth day of Christmas,

     My true love sent to me

     Twelve lords a-leaping,

     …

     Eight maids a-milking,

     Seven swans a-swimming,

     Six geese a-laying,

   • circa 1850, Here We Come A-wassailing/Here We Come A-caroling

     Here we come a-wassailing

     Among the leaves so green;

     Here we come a-wand’ring

     So fair to be seen.

   • 1939, Alfred Edward Housman, Additional Poems, XIII, lines 6-7:

     Oh waste no words a-wooing

     The soft sleep to your bed;

   • 1964, Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are a-Changin' " (recorded 1963, released 1964):

     The order is rapidly fadin'

     And the first one now will later be last

     For the times they are a-changin'

   • circa 1970, bumper sticker:^[2]

     If the van’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’.

Alternative forms

• i-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Prefix

a-

1. Obsolete form of y-. Archaic and Dialectal. In dialect, it is sometimes conflated with sense 5 of the previous definition, and is used as a general indicator of a participle. [First attested around 1150 to 1350 (Middle English).]^[1]

   aware, alike

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Prefix

a-

1. (no longer productive) forming words with the sense of wholly, or utterly out[First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]^[1]

   abash

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ə/, /eɪ/

Prefix

a-

1. Not, without, opposite of.

   amoral, asymmetry, atheism, asexual, acyclic

   • 1948 (revised 1952), Robert Graves, The White Goddess, Faber & Faber 1999, page 7:

     When invited to believe in the Chimaera, the horse-centaurs, or the winged horse Pegasus, all of them straightforward Pelasgian cult-symbols, a philosopher felt bound to reject them as a-zoölogical improbabilities [...].

   • 2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin 2013, page 191:

     If aroused outside the proper outlet of marriage, [female lust] could range out of control, turning its possessor into an a-feminine monster: that is what happened to fallen women.

Prefix

a-

1. (no longer productive) Towards; Used to indicate direction, reduction to, increase to, change into, or motion. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]^[1]

   ascend, aspire, amass, abandon, avenue

Prefix

a-

1. (no longer productive) Away from. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]^[1]

   avert, aperient, abridge, assoil^[3]

Prefix

a-

1. (no longer productive) Of, from. [First attested prior to 1150.]^[1]

   anew, afresh^[3]

Derived terms

Derived terms

Prefix

a-

1. A prefix forming words, especially verbs, that denote entering a state, making progress toward a goal, or the like.

Prefix

a-

1. a-, non-, -less.

Prefix

a-

1. ad- (indication direction)

Usage notes

The Italian prefix a- often reduplicates the following consonant (syntactic gemination, raddoppiamento fonosintattico). The actual forms usually will be ab- (in abbracciare), ac- (in accorrere), ad- (in addestrare), al- (in allargare) etc.

Prefix

a-

1. a- (indicating lack or loss)

   Synonym: an-

Prefix

ā-

1. Alternative form of ab-

Usage notes

Used before bilabial voiced consonants: b-, m- and v-.

Prefix

a-

1. (Before a word beginning with sc, sp or st) Alternative form of ad-

   a- + ‎scandere (“climb”) → ‎ascendere (“climb up, go up; rise, spring up”)

   a- + ‎scrībere (“write”) → ‎āscrībere (“state in writing, add in writing; insert; appoint, enroll, enfranchise, reckon, number”)

   a- + ‎spīrāre (“breathe”) → ‎aspīrāre (“breathe or blow upon; am favorable to, assist, favor, aid; aspire or desire (to); approach, come near (to)”)

   a- + ‎specere (“observe, look at”) → ‎aspicere (“look at or towards, behold; regard, respect; observe, notice; examine, inspect; consider, ponder”)

   a- + ‎stringere (“press, tighten, compress”) → ‎astringere (“draw close, bind or tie together; tighten, contract; check, restrain; oblige, necessitate”)

   a- + ‎struere (“compose, construct, build; ready, prepare; place, arrange”) → ‎astruere (“build near or to a thing, erect; build on, heap; build an additional structure”)

Usage notes

This prefix is often used as a neutral possessive pronoun to make the citation forms of inalienable nouns: amá (“someone's mother”), akʼos (“someone's neck”), ajáád (“someone's leg”), ajááʼ (“someone's ear”), akʼéí (“someone's kin”). The alternative is to use the prefix ha- (“one's”) or bi- (“his/her/its/their”) to make these dictionary forms.

See also

• á-
• ał-
• ahił-

Derived terms

Derived terms

Derived terms

Descendants

• Middle English: a-
  • English: a-

Usage notes

This form merges with the prefixes ro-, no-, di-, to-, fo-, ar-, and imm- to form ra-, na-, da-, da-, fa-, ara-, imma- respectively. It disappears after the particle ní (“not”), its only trace being the mutation it causes (eclipsis in the case of the masculine, lenition in the case of the neuter), thus ní cara (does not love) vs. ní chara (does not love it), ní ben (does not strike) vs. ní mben (does not strike him).

Derived terms

See also

Derived terms

Prefix

a-

1. added to adjective X, forms verbs meaning to make/turn X

   a- + vermelho (“red”) + -ar → avermelhar (“to redden”)

   a- + baixo (“low”) + -ar → abaixar (“to lower”)

2. added to noun X, forms verbs meaning to cause or make X or to cause something to have X

   a- + pavor (“dread”) + -ar → apavorar (“to frighten”)

   a- + fama (“fame”) + -ar → afamar (“to make famous”)

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not; without)

   Synonym: in-

Prefix

a-

1. A prefix forming words, especially verbs, that denote entering a state, making progress toward a goal, or the like.

See also

• en-

Prefix

a-

1. a-, non-, -less

Prefix

a- (medial ka-)

1. he, she, it; class 1 subject concord, used in the subjunctive and potential mood.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Prefix

a- (medial ka-)

1. he, she, it; class 1 subject concord, used in the subjunctive and potential mood.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Prefix

a-

1. Class 6 relative concord.

Prefix

a-

1. not

Prefix

a-

1. Alternative form of ma-