A • DICCIONARIO INGLES.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" : have a bun in the oven, make a motion, a priori, a little, type A, group A, hepatitis A virus, coenzyme A, element of a cone, tete a tete, strike a chord, grind to a halt, a trifle, purine, hang by a thread, Thomas a Becket, take a hop, raise a stink, A-horizon, turn a nice penny, pied-a-terre, adenine, a capella singing, at a low price, man-on-a-horse, take a bow, in a higher place, a couple of, ring-a-rosy, take a breather, love-in-a-mist, in a bad way, have a go at it, throw a fit, catch a wink, provitamin A, explode a bombshell, a lot, in a way, rat-a-tat-tat, chlorophyll a, millimicron, take a joke, for a bargain price, to a greater extent, a cappella singing, element of a cylinder, Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya, a Kempis, jack-a-lantern, retinol, a million times, paint a picture, once in a while, A battery, call it a day, turn on a dime, A-team, tete-a-tete, broth of a boy, strike a note, nucleotide, give a hang, beyond a shadow of a doubt, drag a bunt, ampere, get a whiff, broth of a man, have a look, get a look, a few, give it a try, in a flash, to a fault, imaginary part of a complex number, in a nutshell, bright as a new penny, at a time, rope-a-dope, son of a bitch, term of a contract, play a trick on, dehydroretinol, drop a line, A-bomb, not by a long sight, pig-a-back, take a dare, send a message, on a higher floor, naked as a jaybird, hepatitis A, take a powder, letter, A'man, hemophilia A, play a joke on, take a crap, draw a blank, have a good time, take a leak, at a loss, A-scan ultrasonography, deoxyadenosine monophosphate, since a long time ago, micromicron, A horizon, by a long shot, lobster a la Newburg, as a formality, 5-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, feel like a million dollars, A-list, character-at-a-time printer, for a while, take a breath, take a shit, moment of a couple, pull a fast one on, a cappella, draw a line, degree of a polynomial, have a ball, a hundred times, characteristic root of a square matrix, line-at-a-time printer, a fortiori, in a broad way, as a matter of fact, touch a chord, rent-a-car, make a clean breast of, take a hit, get a line, of a sudden, forever and a day, to a great extent, object of a preposition, without a stitch, two-a-penny, cap-a-pie, cock-a-hoop, do a job on, in a pig's eye, catch a glimpse, chock-a-block, like a shot, give a hoot, in a heartfelt way, to a higher place, one at a time, take a dive, beyond a doubt, picometre, angstrom unit, roman a clef, immunoglobulin A, a good deal, time and a half, feel like a million, domain of a function, to a man, a great deal, to a T, current unit, bric-a-brac, Saint Thomas a Becket, in a similar way, a posteriori, page-at-a-time printer, amp, all of a sudden, half a dozen, many a, hang by a hair, antiophthalmic factor, turn a trick, to a lesser extent, pull a face, turn a profit, after a fashion, range of a function, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, on a regular basis, picometer, draw a bead on, as a group, a-ok, pate a choux, St. Thomas a Becket, strike a blow, blood group, folie a deux, have a go, a la carte, get a noseful, a bit, rub-a-dub, axerophthol, run a risk, have a fit, vis-a-vis, to a lower place, a-okay, turn a loss, on a lower floor, high-muck-a-muck, go a long way, shoot a line, cock-a-doodle-doo, eigenvalue of a square matrix, care a hang, smart as a whip, quite a little, spend a penny, take a chance, botulinum toxin A, eigenvalue of a matrix, even a little, at a lower place, biochemistry, not by a blame sight, make a point, turn a blind eye, deaf as a post, micromillimetre, blood type, abatement of a nuisance, vitamin A, moment of a magnet, in a low voice, A-line, micromillimeter, A-one, cock-a-leekie, for a song, menage a trois, angstrom, give a damn, give it a whirl, beat a retreat, degree of a term, quite a, Linear A, Thomas a Kempis, take a look, hardly a, turn a nice dime, in a beastly manner, rat-a-tat, haemophilia A, pit-a-pat, turn a nice dollar, make a face, nm, take a firm stand, a la mode, make a stink, ring-around-a-rosy

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