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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" : run a risk, have a go at it, take a hop, by a long shot, A-team, turn a nice dime, have a good time, moment of a magnet, care a hang, a lot, play a trick on, cock-a-leekie, in a similar way, pit-a-pat, turn a nice dollar, a bit, degree of a polynomial, A-scan ultrasonography, tete-a-tete, take a hit, angstrom unit, at a time, touch a chord, hepatitis A virus, St. Thomas a Becket, vitamin A, in a way, spend a penny, a capella singing, without a stitch, broth of a boy, A-list, to a T, a great deal, to a lesser extent, botulinum toxin A, feel like a million, paint a picture, current unit, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, two-a-penny, for a bargain price, pull a face, hang by a thread, at a loss, turn a nice penny, antiophthalmic factor, since a long time ago, A level, strike a blow, as a matter of fact, pate a choux, strike a chord, A horizon, on a lower floor, nm, beyond a doubt, a cappella singing, abatement of a nuisance, turn a profit, take a joke, get a load, in a higher place, jack-a-lantern, imaginary part of a complex number, dehydroretinol, take a look, group A, take a firm stand, deaf as a post, rat-a-tat, eigenvalue of a square matrix, chlorophyll a, amp, a priori, nucleotide, son of a bitch, send a message, at a low price, A battery, ampere, turn a blind eye, range of a function, catch a wink, to a greater extent, throw a fit, at a lower place, to a man, give it a whirl, Linear A, micromillimetre, like a shot, in a low voice, domain of a function, moment of a couple, micromicron, take a leak, a couple of, pig-a-back, to a great extent, play a joke on, draw a blank, a few, grind to a halt, a la mode, line-at-a-time printer, get a look, type A, take a chance, take a bow, on a higher floor, picometer, get a line, chock-a-block, letter, love-in-a-mist, all of a sudden, rat-a-tat-tat, a cappella, man-on-a-horse, take a dare, adenine, cock-a-hoop, as a formality, broth of a man, get a whiff, a fortiori, a posteriori, eigenvalue of a matrix, for a while, characteristic root of a square matrix, vis-a-vis, a little, in a heartfelt way, call it a day, millimicron, A-bomb, a million times, angstrom, make a stink, draw a line, to a lower place, character-at-a-time printer, retinol

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