a-

See also: A-, A−, -a, -a-, á-, ā-, а-, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

Languages (50)

Translingual • English

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A-Pucikwar • Catalan • Danish • Dutch • Esperanto • Fingallian • Finnish • Franco-Provençal • French • Galician • German • Hanunoo • Indonesian • Irish • Italian • Japhug • Latin • Latvian • Mohawk • Murui Huitoto • Navajo • Neapolitan • Northern Ndebele • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Old French • Old Irish • Old Javanese • Old Saxon • Phuthi • Polish • Portuguese • Sardinian • Scots • Serbo-Croatian • Southern Ndebele • Spanish • Swahili • Swazi • Tagal Murut • Tagalog • Tashelhit • Tooro • Welsh • Xhosa • Ye'kwana • Zulu

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”).

Prefix

a-

1. Used to form taxonomic names indicating a lack of some feature that might be expected

Derived terms

Translingual terms prefixed with a-

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English a- (“up, out, away”), from Old English ā-, originally *ar-, *or-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out-”), from Proto-Indo-European *uds- (“up, out”). Cognate with Old Saxon a-, German er-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Prefix

a-

2. (no longer productive) Forming verbs with the sense away, up, on, out.

   arise, await

4. (no longer productive) Forming verbs with the sense of intensified action.

   abide, amaze

Etymology 2

• From Middle English a- (“on”), derived from unstressed Middle English an (“on”), from Old English an (“on”).
• See a (preposition, on, to, in, etc.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Prefix

a-

2. (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]

   aglow, apace, afire, aboil, a-bling, abluster

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

   asunder

6. In the direction of, or toward. [First attested prior to 1150]

   astern, abeam

8. (archaic or dialectal) At such a time. [First attested prior to 1150]

   Come a-morning we are going hunting.

10. (archaic or dialectal) In the act or process of. Used in some dialects before a present participle. [First attested prior to 1150]

    hits a-poppin

    doins a-transpirin [doings a-transpiring]

    • 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:

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

Usage notes

Adjectives formed with this prefix are often restricted to predicative use, owing to their origin as prepositional phrases with the preposition "on." For example, one may say "the ship is afire," but not "the afire ship," just as one may say "the ship is on fire," but not "the on fire ship."

Etymology 3

From Middle English a-, a variant form of y-, from Old English ġe-, from Proto-West Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“with”).

Alternative forms

• i-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Prefix

a-

2. Alternative 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).]

   aware, alike

4. (Devon) Used to form the past participle of a verb.

   I have a-gone.

   I have a-seen a bird.

Etymology 4

From Anglo-Norman a-, from Old French e-, from Latin ex-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Prefix

a-

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

   abash

Etymology 5

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately followed by a vowel).

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /eɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Philippines) IPA^(key): /ə/, /a/ (not in atheist)

Prefix

a-

2. Not, without, opposite of.

   amoral, asymmetry, atheism, asexual, acyclic, atypical

   • 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, published 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.

Usage notes

• This prefix is referred to as alpha privative.
• Used with stems that begin with consonants except sometimes h. an- is synonymous and is used in front of words that start with vowels and sometimes h. For example, anesthetic and analgesic.

Synonyms

• (not): an-, dys-, i-/il-/im-/in-/ir-, mal-, non-, un-

Translations

not, without, opposite of

• Asturian: a-
• Catalan: a- (ca)
• Danish: -a
• Dutch: a- (nl)
• French: a- (fr)
• Galician: a- (gl)
• German: a- (de)
• Irish: a-
• Italian: a- (it)
• Latvian: a-
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: a- (no)

  Nynorsk: a-

• Occitan: a-
• Polish: a- (pl)
• Portuguese: a- (pt)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: а-

  Roman: a-

• Spanish: a- (es), an- (es)

Etymology 6

From Middle English a-, from Middle French a-, from Latin ad (“towards”).

Prefix

a-

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

   ascend, aspire, amass, abandon, avenue

Usage notes

• Used on stems that started with sc, sp, or st, and also used on stems with a French origin.
• Used in place of ad-.

Etymology 7

From Latin ab (“of, off, from, away”).

Prefix

a-

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

   avert, aperient, abridge, assoil, assoilzie

Usage notes

• Variation of the prefix ab-, only used when the stem starts with the letter p or v, or (rarely) s in which case the s is doubled (as in assoil and assoilzie).

Etymology 8

From Middle English a-, o- (“of”). See a (preposition, of).

Prefix

a-

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

   anew, afresh, athirst

Usage notes

Different Germanic and Latinate senses of a- became confused (vaguely “intensive") and are all unproductive. The Greek sense of “not” (e.g., amoral, asymmetry) remains in use.

“[I]t naturally happened that all these a- prefixes were at length confusedly lumped together in idea, and the resultant a- looked upon as vaguely intensive, rhetorical, euphonic [nice-sounding], or even archaic, and wholly otiose [pointless].” OED.

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with a-

References

• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “a-”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1.
• Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “a-”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 1.
• Laurence Urdang (editor), The Random House College Dictionary (Random House, 1984 [1975], →ISBN), page 1
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “a-”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Etymology 9

Prefix

a-

2. Alternative form of -a (“empty syllable added to songs, poetry, verse and other speech”)

   A-tisket a-tasket,
   A green and yellow basket

Etymology 10

Prefix

a-

2. (Chester) Used as a prefix to verbs in the sense of remaining in the same condition. Actively doing something.

   a-be, a-going

   Let that choilt a-be, wilt ta. ― Let that child alone, will you.

A-Pucikwar

Prefix

a-

1. prefix attached to words relating to the mouth, such as the names of languages

Catalan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not, without)

   ‎a- + ‎moral (“moral”) → ‎amoral (“amoral”)

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with a-

Etymology 2

From Latin ad (“towards”).

Prefix

a-

1. used to make verbs from adjectives and nouns

   ‎a- + ‎feble (“weak”) → ‎afeblir (“to weaken”)

   ‎a- + ‎sabor (“taste”) → ‎assaborir (“to taste”)

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• “a-” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “a-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “a-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Danish

Prefix

a-

1. a-, un- (not)
2. A- (atomic, nuclear)

   Synonyms: atom-, A-

Derived terms

Danish terms prefixed with a-

Dutch

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

a-

1. a-: not, without, opposite of

Derived terms

Dutch terms prefixed with a-

See also

• an-

Esperanto

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

Prefix

a-

1. without, -less

Derived terms

Esperanto terms prefixed with a-

Related terms

• mal-, ne-, sen-

Fingallian

Etymology

From Middle English a- (“on”), derived from unstressed Middle English an (“on”), from Old English an (“on”).

Prefix

a-

1. Used to show a state, condition, or manner.
   • A NORTH-COUNTY DUBLIN CLOSSARY:

     The hay is a-cutting now. You're a-wanting.

References

• J. J. Hogan and Patrick C. O'Neill (1947) Béaloideas Iml. 17, Uimh 1/2, An Cumann Le Béaloideas Eireann/Folklore of lreland Society, page 263

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (see English a-), ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ-/, [ˈɑ̝-]

Prefix

a-

1. (in loanwords) a-, non-, un-

   Synonym: epä-

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad-.

Prefix

a- (ORB)

1. Attaches to verbs, sometimes adding a sense of "toward".

Derived terms

Franco-Provençal terms prefixed with a-

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French a-, from Latin ad-.

Prefix

a-

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

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel; generalized from the many Latin borrowings using this prefix.

Prefix

a-

1. a-, non-, -less

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• “a-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese a-, from Latin ad-.

Prefix

a-

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

   ‎a- + ‎curto (“short”) + ‎-ar → ‎acurtar (“to shorten”)

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

   ‎a- + ‎fervor (“passion”) + ‎-ar → ‎afervoar (“to excite”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not; without)

   Synonym: in-

Derived terms

Galician terms prefixed with a-

German

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not, without, opposite of)

Derived terms

German terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• “a-” in Duden online
• “a-” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Hanunoo

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ha- (adjectival prefix for adjectives of measure). Compare Bikol Central ha- and Cebuano ha-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔa]
• Syllabification: a-

Prefix

a- (Hanunoo spelling ᜠ)

1. adjectival prefix to words denoting height, length, or depth

Derived terms

Hanunoo terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ha-₁”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Indonesian

Etymology

From Sanskrit अ- (a-, “un-, not”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *a-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

• Reinforced as borrowing from Dutch a-, from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (form ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel), from Proto-Hellenic *ə-, from the same Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a]
• Hyphenation: a

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not, without, opposite of)

Derived terms

Indonesian terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• “a-” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Irish

Alternative forms

• ai- (before a palatalized consonant, both etymologies)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/, /ə/

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately followed by a vowel).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not, without, opposite of)

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with a-

Etymology 2

Prefix

a-

1. Alternative form of ath- used before t

Italian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin ad-.

Prefix

a-

1. ad- (indicating 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.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

Prefix

a-

1. a- (indicating lack or loss)

Alternative forms

• an- (before a vowel)

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with a-

Japhug

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Prefix

a-

1. (Kamnyu) my

Derived terms

Japhug terms prefixed with a-

See also

Japhug (Kamnyu) personal pronouns and possessive prefixes
Number	Person	Possessive prefixes	Free pronoun	Genitive
Singular	1st	a-	aʑo, aj	aʑɯɣ
	2nd	nɤ-	nɤʑo, nɤj	nɤʑɯɣ
	3rd	ɯ-	ɯʑo	ɯʑɤɣ
Dual	1st	tɕi-	tɕiʑo	tɕiʑɤɣ
	2nd	ndʑi-	ndʑiʑo	ndʑiʑɤɣ
	3rd		ʑɤni	ʑɤniɣɯ
Plural	1st	i-	iʑo, iʑora, iʑɤra	iʑɤɣ, iʑɤra ɣɯ
	2nd	nɯ-	nɯʑo, nɯʑora, nɯʑɤra	nɯʑɤɣ, nɯʑɤra ɣɯ
	3rd		ʑara	ʑaraɣ, ʑara ɣɯ
Generic		tɯ-	tɯʑo

Latin

Etymology 1

Prefix

ā-

1. Alternative form of ab-

Usage notes

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

Etymology 2

From ad (“towards”).

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”) → ‎ascrībere (“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”)

Latvian

Etymology

Via other European languages, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a]

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

a-

1. Not, not having, without, opposite of.

   ‎a- + ‎seksuāls → ‎aseksuāls

Mohawk

Alternative forms

• aon- (before s- (“iterative”) and t- (“cislocative”))

Prefix

a-

1. irrealis prefix

References

• Nora Deering, Helga H. Delisle (1976) Mohawk: A teaching grammar (preliminary version), Quebec: Manitou College, page 332

Murui Huitoto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a-]

Prefix

a-

1. (unproductive) Used to form a few adverbs signifying a location or motion from or to above.

Derived terms

Murui Huitoto terms prefixed with a-

Related terms

• aa

References

• Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[1], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 145

Navajo

Prefix

a-

1. someone's, people's

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

Navajo possessive pronouns

			singular	dual	plural
1st person			shi-	nihi-	danihi-
2nd person			ni-	nihi-	danihi-
3rd person			bi-
4th person (3o)			yi-
4th person (3a)			ha-, hw-
Indefinite person (3i)			a-

• á-
• ał-
• ahił-

Neapolitan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad-.

Prefix

a-

1. compare Italian a-

Derived terms

Neapolitan terms prefixed with a-

Northern Ndebele

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

a-

1. Class 6 relative concord.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From the first letter of the Norwegian alphabet a, from Latin a, from Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through the Etruscan language, from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ), from Proto-Canaanite , from Proto-Sinaitic , from Egyptian 𓃾.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː
• Hyphenation: a-
• Homophones: A, a, A-, à, ah

Prefix

a-

2. indicating the first or best in something

   Synonyms: a, A-

   ‎a- + ‎lag → ‎a-lag

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”), from Proto-Hellenic *ə- (“un-, not; without, lacking”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (“not, un-”). Doublet of u-.

Compare an- (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

Prefix

a-

2. a- (not, without, opposite of)

   Synonyms: a, an-

   ‎a- + ‎politisk (“political”) → ‎apolitisk (“apolitical”)

   ‎a- + ‎sosial (“social”) → ‎asosial (“asocial”)

   ‎a- + ‎symmetrisk (“symmetrical”) → ‎asymmetrisk (“asymmetrical”)

   ‎a- + ‎gnostiker (“gnostic”) → ‎agnostiker (“agnostic”)

Alternative forms

• an-

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål terms prefixed with a-

Etymology 3

Clipping of atom-, from the noun atom (“atom”), from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “indivisible, uncut, undivided”), whereas atombombe is a calque of English atomic bomb.

Prefix

a-

2. Short for atom-.

   ‎a- + ‎bombe → ‎a-bombe

References

• “a-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “a-” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “a-” in Store norske leksikon

Anagrams

• A, A-, a

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”).

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not, without)

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk terms prefixed with a-

References

• “a-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Alternative forms

• ar-, a-

Etymology

From an earlier form ar-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz-. Cognate with Old High German ar-, ir- (German er-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/

Prefix

ā-

1. from, away, off, out

   āniman ― to take away, to remove

Derived terms

Old English terms prefixed with a-

Descendants

• Middle English: a-
  • English: a-

Old French

Etymology

From Latin ad, which was often reduced to a- in compounds.

Prefix

a-

1. indicating movement towards something
2. (by extension) indicating a change of state
3. intensifying prefix
4. alternative form of es-

Derived terms

Old French terms prefixed with a-

Old Irish

Prefix

a- (class A infixed pronoun)

1. him (triggers eclipsis)
2. it (triggers lenition)

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

Old Irish terms prefixed with a-

See also

Old Irish affixed pronouns

See Appendix:Old Irish affixed pronouns for details on how these forms are used.
Note that the so-called “infixed” pronouns are technically prefixes, but they are never the first prefix in a verbal complex.

Person	Infixed			Suffixed
	Class A	Class B	Class C
1 sing.	m-L	dom-L, dam-L		-um
2 sing.	t-L	dot-L, dat-L, dut-L, dit-L		-ut
3 sing. m.	a-N, e-N	d-N	id-N, did-N, d-N	-i, -it
3 sing. f.	s-(N)	da-		-us
3 sing. n.	a-L, e-L	d-L	id-L, did-L, d-L	-i, -it
1 pl.	n-	don-, dun-, dan-		-unn
2 pl.	b-	dob-, dub-, dab-		-uib
3 pl.	s-(N)	da-		-us
L means this form triggers lenition. N means this form triggers nasalization (eclipsis) (N) means this form triggers nasalization in some texts but not in others.

Old Javanese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

a-

1. active verb forming

   Synonyms: (m)aN-, -um-

2. adjective forming

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sanskrit अ- (a-, “un-, not”)

Prefix

a-

1. un-, not

Derived terms

Old Javanese terms prefixed with a-

Old Saxon

Etymology

From an earlier form ar-, from Proto-Germanic *uz-. Cognate with Old English a-, Old High German ar-, ir- (German er-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/

Prefix

a-

1. forming words with the sense from, away, out, off, e.g. animan

Derived terms

Old Saxon terms prefixed with a-

Phuthi

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Polish

Alternative forms

• an-

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]
• Homophones: a, -a

Prefix

a-

1. forming words with the sense of negation, a-

   ‎a- + ‎społeczny → ‎aspołeczny

Derived terms

Polish terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• a- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌa/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ/
• Homophones: A, a, à, há

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese a-, from Latin ad-.

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”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

Alternative forms

• an- (before a vowel sound)

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not; without)

   Synonym: in-

   amoral ― amoral

   anaeróbio ― anaerobic

Derived terms

Portuguese terms prefixed with a-

Sardinian

Etymology

Inherited from Classical Latin ad-, from the preposition ad (“to, towards”).

Prefix

a-

1. ad- (toward, to, tendency)

Derived terms

Sardinian terms prefixed with a-

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ə/

Etymology 1

From Middle English a- (“on”), derived from unstressed Middle English an (“on”), from Old English an (“on”).

Prefix

a-

1. on

   aback, agley, agrufe, athort, atween

Etymology 2

From Middle English a-, from Old English of- (“off”).

Prefix

a-

1. off

   adoon

Etymology 3

From Old Norse at- (“to”).

Prefix

a-

1. to

   adae, agae

Etymology 4

From Middle English a- (“up, out, away”), from Old English ā-, originally *ar-, *or-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out-”).

Prefix

a-

1. away from

   abide, arise

Etymology 5

From Middle English and-, from Old English and- (“against, back”), from Proto-Germanic *andi- (“across, opposite, against, away”).

Prefix

a-

1. against, opposite

   alang

Etymology 6

From Middle English a-, from Old English ane (“one”).

Prefix

a-

1. one

   awhile

Etymology 7

From ah!

Prefix

a-

1. ah

   aweel, alake

Etymology 8

From Middle English a-, from Middle French a-, from Latin ad (“towards”).

Prefix

a-

1. towards

   avise

Etymology 9

From Latin ab (“of, off, from, away”).

Prefix

a-

1. away from

   assoilzie

References

• “a, prefix.¹”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (“un-, not”), zero-grade form of *ne (“not”). Doublet of ne.

Prefix

a- (Cyrillic spelling а-)

1. Prefix prepended to words to denote a negation, deprivation or absence of a property denoted by base word.

   Synonyms: bez-, ne-

   ‎a- + ‎sȍcijālan → ‎ȁsocijālan

   ‎a- + ‎simètrija → ‎asimètrija

   ‎a- + ‎brahija → ‎abrahija

References

• “a-”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Southern Ndebele

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

a-

1. Class 6 relative concord.

Spanish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin ad-.

Prefix

a-

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

See also

• en-

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel; generalized from the many Latin borrowings using this prefix.

Prefix

a-

1. a-, non-, -less

Usage notes

• Used with stems that begin with consonants except h. an- is synonymous and is used in front of words that start with vowels and h. For example, analfabetismo (“analphabetism”).

Derived terms

Spanish terms prefixed with a-

Further reading

• “a-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swahili

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

Prefix

a-

1. she, he; 3rd person singular (m class_(I)) subject concord

   Antonym: ha-

See also

Swahili personal pronouns (m-wa class_(I/II))

Number	Person	Independent	Subject concord		Object concord	Combined forms			Possessive
			affirmative	negative		na	ndi-	si-
Singular	First	mimi	ni-	si-	-ni-	nami, na mimi	ndimi, ndiye	simi, siye	-angu
	Second	wewe	u-	hu-	-ku-	nawe, na wewe	ndiwe, ndiye	siwe, siye	-ako
	Third	yeye	a-, yu-	ha-, hayu-	-m-, -mw-, -mu-	naye, na yeye	ndiye	siye	-ake
Plural	First	sisi	tu-	hatu-	-tu-	nasi, na sisi	ndisi, ndio	sio	-etu
	Second	ninyi	m-, mw-, mu-	ham-, hamw-, hamu-	-wa-	nanyi, na ninyi	ndinyi, ndio	sinyi, sio	-enu
	Third	wao	wa-	hawa-	-wa-	nao	ndio	sio	-ao
Reflexive		—	—		-ji-	—			—
For a full table including other classes, see Appendix:Swahili personal pronouns.

Etymology 2

Prefix

a-

1. Contraction of a- + -a- (“3rd person singular (m class_(I)) gnomic”).

Swazi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

Prefix

a- (medial ka-)

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

See also

• u- (in other cases)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Tagal Murut

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-, from Proto-Austronesian *ma- (stative prefix).

Prefix

a-

1. used to form adjectives indicating a quality

   ‎a- + ‎amis (“sweetness”) → ‎a-amis (“sweet”)

   ‎a- + ‎laat (“badness”) → ‎a-laat (“bad”)

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish a, from Latin ad.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔɐ]
• Syllabification: a-

Prefix

a- (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)

1. at (indicating time)

   Puntahan kita sa a-primero ng Marso.

   I'll go to you at the first of March.

   Sahuran tuwing a-kinse ng bawat buwan.

   It is payday every 15^th of every month.

   A-treynta y uno kahapon.

   Yesterday was the 31^st.

Usage notes

• Only used before Spanish cardinal numbers to tell the date for a month. For the first day of a month, a-primero is more correct but a-uno is also used by younger speakers. The prefix has the same function as ika- for Tagalog cardinal numbers.
• The prefix is optional but Spanish-oriented speakers often use it.

Derived terms

Tagalog terms prefixed with a-

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔaː]
• Syllabification: a-

Prefix

á- (Baybayin spelling ᜀ) (dialectal, chiefly Mindoro)

1. forms contemplative aspect forms for verbs in the object or directional trigger

Usage notes

• Can be considered as a dialectal equivalent to the reduplicated syllable for some verbs.

  ‎á- + ‎tápon (“throw”) → ‎átápon (“will be thrown”): equivalent to itatapon

  ‎á- + ‎inóm (“drink”) + ‎-in → ‎áinumín (“will be drunk”): equivalent to iinumin

  ‎á- + ‎gawâ (“drink”) + ‎-an → ‎ágaw-án (“will be done for”): equivalent to gagawan

  ‎á- + ‎pakuluan (“to be boiled”) → ‎ápakuluán (“will let to be boiled”): equivalent to pakukuluan

• When used with in-, forms the progressive aspect forms of verbs.

  ‎in- + ‎á- + ‎tápon (“throw”) → ‎inátápon (“being thrown”): equivalent to itinatapon

  ‎in- + ‎á- + ‎inóm (“drink”) → ‎ináinóm (“being drunk”): equivalent to iniinom

  ‎in- + ‎á- + ‎gawâ (“drink”) + ‎-an → ‎inágaw-án (“being done for”): equivalent to ginagawan

  ‎in- + ‎á- + ‎pakuluan (“to be let boiled”) → ‎inápakuluán (“letting to be boiled”): equivalent to pinakukuluan

See also

• ga-
• maga-
• naga-

 

Tashelhit

Etymology

From Proto-Berber.

Prefix

a-.

1. the masculine form of nouns.
2. the masculine form of adjectives.

Tooro

Alternative forms

• (before -a- or subjunctive -e-) y-
• (before vowels in other cases) ay-

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a-/

Prefix

a-

1. he, she; class 1 subject concord

   ‎a- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎akora (“he/she does”)

See also

Tooro personal pronouns

Class	Person	Independent	Possessive	Subject concord	Object concord	Combined forms
						na	ni
Class 1	First	nyowe, nye	-ange	n-	-n-	nanyowe, nanye	ninyowe, ninye
	Second	iwe	-awe	o-	-ku-	naiwe	niiwe
	Third	uwe	-e	a-	-mu-	nawe	nuwe
Class 2	First	itwe	-aitu	tu-	-tu-	naitwe	niitwe
	Second	inywe	-anyu	mu-	-ba-	nainywe	niinywe
	Third	abo	-abo	ba-	-ba-	nabo	nubo
Class 3		gwo	-agwo	gu-	-gu-	nagwo	nugwo
Class 4		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
Class 5		lyo	-alyo	li-	-li-	nalyo	niryo
Class 6		go	-ago	ga-	-ga-	nago	nugo
Class 7		kyo	-akyo	ki-	-ki-	nakyo	nikyo
Class 8		byo	-abyo	bi-	-bi-	nabyo	nibyo
Class 9		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
Class 10		zo	-azo	zi-	-zi-	nazo	nizo
Class 11		rwo	-arwo	ru-	-ru-	narwo	nurwo
Class 12		ko	-ako	ka-	-ka-	nako	nuko
Class 13		two	-atwo	tu-	-tu-	natwo	nutwo
Class 14		bwo	-abwo	bu-	-bu-	nabwo	nubwo
Class 15		kwo	-akwo	ku-	-ku-	nakwo	nukwo
Class 16		ho	-aho	ha-	-ha-	naho	nuho
Class 17		(kwo)	N/A	ha- (...-yo)	-ha-	N/A	nukwo
Class 18		(mwo)	-amwo	ha- (...-mu)	-ha-	N/A	numwo
Reflexive		-enyini, -onyini	—		-e-	—

References

• Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[2], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 413

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Prefix

a-

1. affirmative prefix, emphasises prefixed word

   ‎a- + ‎trist (“sad”) → ‎athrist (“very sad, sorrowful”)

   ‎a- + ‎traidd (“piercing, penetration”) → ‎athraidd (“permeable”)

Usage notes

Triggers aspirate mutation of the following consonant.

Derived terms

Welsh terms prefixed with a-

Mutation

Mutated forms of a-

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
a-	unchanged	unchanged	ha-

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “a-”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Xhosa

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

a- (medial wa-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

a-

1. Class 6 relative concord.

Etymology 4

From Proto-Bantu *nkà-.

Prefix

a-

1. not

Usage notes

Used in the indicative mood, prefixed to the subject concord.

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies

ALIV	a-
Brazilian standard	a-
New Tribes	a-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a-]

Prefix

a-

1. allomorph of öt- (detransitivizing prefix)
2. allomorph of ö- (second-person prefix) used for stems that begin with a consonant and have a first vowel a or e

Inflection

Ye'kwana personal markers

	pronoun	noun possessor/ series II verb argument		postposition object		series I verb argument
						transitive patient	intransitive patient-like		intransitive agent-like	transitive agent
first person	ewü	y-, ∅-, ü-, u-1						w-, wi-
first person dual inclusive	küwü	k-, kü-, ku-, ki-								k-, kii-, ki-1
second person	amödö	ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh-							m-, mi-
first person dual exclusive	nña	y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-1			chö-	∅-	n-, ni-
third person	tüwü					n-, ni-
distant past third person		—				kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini-
coreferential/reflexive	—	t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te-				—
reciprocal	—	—	öö-
With following vowel lengthened if in an unreduced open syllable.

	series I verb argument: transitive agent and transitive patient
first person > second person	mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni-
first person dual exclusive > second person
second person > first person	k-, kü-, ku-, ki-
second person > first person dual exclusive
third person > any person X …or… any person X > third person	see person X in the chart above

Zulu

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

Prefix

á- (medial ká-)

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

See also

• u- (in other cases)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

á- (medial wá-)

1. they; class 6 subject concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

Prefix

a-

1. of; class 6 possessive concord.

Etymology 4

Originally a reduced form of la- (“general demonstrative”). Compare Swazi relative forms such as lesi-, which still keep the initial l-.

Prefix

ā́-

1. Used to form relative clauses.

Usage notes

This prefix has conditioned allomorphs o- and e-.

Etymology 5

From a- (“relative”) +‎ a- (“class 6”).

Prefix

ā́-

1. Class 6 relative concord.

Etymology 6

From Proto-Bantu *nkà-.

Prefix

a-

1. not

Usage notes

Used in the indicative mood, prefixed to the subject concord.

Alternative forms

• ka-

Etymology 7

Prefix

a-

1. Alternative form of ma- (hortative)

References

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “a-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “a-”