A • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of A

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noun

A n.

1.

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 ä sound, the Phoenician alphabet having no vowel symbols. This letter, in English, is used for several different vowel sounds. The regular long a, as in fate, etc., is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was a sound of the quality of ä (as in far).

2.

(Mus.) 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 is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. A flat is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G.

A per se, one preeminent; a nonesuch. (Obs.) "O fair Creseide, the flower and A per se Of Troy and Greece."

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Etymology of 'A'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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Words linked to "A" : pate a choux, at a low price, hepatitis A, catch a wink, to a T, element of a cone, take a crap, hepatitis A virus, A battery, take a breather, jack-a-lantern, a million times, grind to a halt, get a line, play a joke on, a-ok, in a higher place, object of a preposition, beyond a shadow of a doubt, make a motion, a capella singing, go a long way, in a way, broth of a boy, have a go, strike a note, drag a bunt, pull a face, to a great extent, beat a retreat, type A, of a sudden, quite a little, have a fit, have a good time, broth of a man, nm, a couple of, for a song, in a broad way, without a stitch, on a lower floor, give a hang, at a lower place, Thomas a Kempis, turn a profit, rub-a-dub, a fortiori, in a bad way, explode a bombshell, touch a chord, to a lesser extent, make a point, vitamin A, high-muck-a-muck, character-at-a-time printer, menage a trois, have a look, forever and a day, A-line, A-one, a few, biochemistry, a cappella singing, one at a time, on a regular basis, cock-a-hoop, micromillimetre, quite a, bric-a-brac, shoot a line, eigenvalue of a square matrix, take a dare, micromicron, turn a nice dime, in a nutshell, a bit, blow a fuse, a little, bright as a new penny, half a dozen, for a while, vis-a-vis, turn on a dime, beyond a doubt, pit-a-pat, ampere, do a job on, play a trick on, take a look, call it a day, son of a bitch, take a dive, give a damn, even a little, millimicron, antiophthalmic factor, drop a line, get a noseful, pig-a-back, like a shot, a priori, hemophilia A, all of a sudden, Saint Thomas a Becket, to a higher place, degree of a term, take a hit, since a long time ago, get a load, at a time, turn a loss, deoxyadenosine monophosphate, run a risk, a great deal, moment of a couple, take a hop, a la mode, in a pig's eye, draw a blank, take a breath, tete-a-tete, element of a cylinder, provitamin A, to a man, immunoglobulin A, A-team, picometer, on a higher floor, Linear A, hardly a, amp, by a long shot, pied-a-terre, axerophthol, turn a blind eye, at a loss, cock-a-doodle-doo, for a bargain price, to a fault, a trifle, naked as a jaybird, coenzyme A, as a matter of fact, strike a chord, current unit, man-on-a-horse, rope-a-dope, A'man, Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya, in a heartfelt way, raise a stink, care a hang, give it a whirl, feel like a million dollars, many a, turn a nice penny, make a stink, Thomas a Becket, in a similar way, botulinum toxin A, a posteriori, throw a fit, take a leak, a hundred times, chock-a-block, take a powder, draw a bead on

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