a-
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Page categories
Translingual
editEtymology
editFrom the Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”).
Prefix
edita-
- Used to form taxonomic names indicating a lack of some feature that might be expected
Derived terms
editEnglish
editEtymology 1
editFrom 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
editPrefix
edita-
- (no longer productive) Forming verbs with the sense away, up, on, out.
- arise, await
- (no longer productive) Forming verbs with the sense of intensified action.
- abide, amaze
Etymology 2
edit- 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
editPrefix
edita-
- (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]
- aglow, apace, afire, aboil, a-bling, abluster
- (no longer productive) In, into. Also passing into sense 5. [First attested prior to 1150][1]
- asunder
- In the direction of, or toward. [First attested prior to 1150][1]
- astern, abeam
- (archaic or dialectal) At such a time. [First attested prior to 1150][1]
- Come a-morning we are going hunting.
- (archaic or dialectal) In the act or process of. Used in some dialects before a present participle. [First attested prior to 1150][1]
- 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:[2]
- If the van’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’.
Usage notes
editAdjectives 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
editFrom 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
editPronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- 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).][1]
- aware, alike
- (Devon) Used to form the past participle of a verb.
- I have a-gone.
- I have a-seen a bird.
Etymology 4
editFrom Anglo-Norman a-, from Old French e-, from Latin ex-.
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- (no longer productive) Forming words with the sense of wholly, or utterly out. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.][1]
- abash
Etymology 5
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately followed by a vowel).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- 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
edit- 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.[3] For example, anesthetic and analgesic.
Synonyms
editTranslations
editEtymology 6
editFrom Middle English a-, from Middle French a-, from Latin ad (“towards”).
Prefix
edita-
- (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
Usage notes
edit- Used on stems that started with sc, sp, or st, and also used on stems with a French origin.
- Used in place of ad-.[4]
Etymology 7
editFrom Latin ab (“of, off, from, away”).
Prefix
edita-
- (no longer productive) Away from. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.][1]
- avert, aperient, abridge, assoil,[3] assoilzie
Usage notes
edit- Variation of the prefix ab-, only used when the stem starts with the letter p or v, [3] or (rarely) s in which case the s is doubled (as in assoil and assoilzie).
Etymology 8
editFrom Middle English a-, o- (“of”). See a (preposition, of).
Prefix
edita-
- (no longer productive) Of, from. [First attested prior to 1150.][1]
- anew, afresh, athirst[3]
Usage notes
editDifferent 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
editReferences
edit- 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
editPrefix
edita-
- 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
editPrefix
edita-
- (Chester) Used as a prefix to verbs in the sense of remaining in the same condition.[1] Actively doing something.
- a-be, a-going
- Let that choilt a-be, wilt ta. ― Let that child alone, will you.[1]
References
editA-Pucikwar
editPrefix
edita-
- prefix attached to words relating to the mouth, such as the names of languages
Catalan
editEtymology 1
editBorrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).
Prefix
edita-
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editPrefix
edita-
- used to make verbs from adjectives and nouns
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “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
editPrefix
edita-
Derived terms
editDutch
editEtymology
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
Derived terms
editSee also
editEsperanto
editEtymology
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).
Prefix
edita-
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editFinnish
editEtymology
editInternationalism (see English a-), ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
Franco-Provençal
editEtymology
editPrefix
edita- (ORB)
- Attaches to verbs, sometimes adding a sense of "toward".
Derived terms
editFrench
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editInherited from Old French a-, from Latin ad-.
Prefix
edita-
- A prefix forming words, especially verbs, that denote entering a state, making progress toward a goal, or the like.
Etymology 2
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel; generalized from the many Latin borrowings using this prefix.
Prefix
edita-
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “a-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
editEtymology 1
editFrom Old Galician-Portuguese a-, from Latin ad-.
Prefix
edita-
- added to adjective X, forms verbs meaning to make/turn X
- added to noun X, forms verbs meaning to cause or make X or to cause something to have X
Etymology 2
editBorrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Prefix
edita-
Derived terms
editGerman
editEtymology
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- a- (not, without, opposite of)
Derived terms
editFurther reading
editIndonesian
editEtymology
editFrom 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
editPrefix
edita-
- a- (not, without, opposite of)
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “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
editAlternative forms
edit- ai- (before a palatalized consonant, both etymologies)
Pronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately followed by a vowel).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- a- (not, without, opposite of)
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editPrefix
edita-
- Alternative form of ath- used before t
Italian
editEtymology 1
editPrefix
edita-
- ad- (indicating direction)
Usage notes
edit- 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
editBorrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).
Prefix
edita-
- a- (indicating lack or loss)
Alternative forms
edit- an- (before a vowel)
Derived terms
editJaphug
editEtymology
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- (Kamnyu) my
Derived terms
editSee also
editJaphug (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
editEtymology 1
editPrefix
editā-
- Alternative form of ab-
Usage notes
editUsed before bilabial voiced consonants: b-, m- and v-.
Etymology 2
editFrom ad (“towards”).
Prefix
edita-
- (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
editEtymology
editVia other European languages, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
Mohawk
editAlternative forms
editPrefix
edita-
- irrealis prefix
References
edit- Nora Deering, Helga H. Delisle (1976) Mohawk: A teaching grammar (preliminary version), Quebec: Manitou College, page 332
Murui Huitoto
editPronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- (unproductive) Used to form a few adverbs signifying a location or motion from or to above.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editReferences
edit- 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
editPrefix
edita-
Usage notes
editThis 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
editNeapolitan
editEtymology
editPrefix
edita-
Derived terms
editNorthern Ndebele
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gá-.
Prefix
edita- (medial wa-)
- they; class 6 subject concord.
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gáá-.
Prefix
edita-
- of; class 6 possessive concord.
Etymology 3
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Prefix
edita-
- Class 6 relative concord.
Norwegian Bokmål
editEtymology 1
editFrom 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
editPrefix
edita-
Etymology 2
editFrom 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
edita-
- 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
editDerived terms
editEtymology 3
editClipping 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
edita-
References
edit- “a-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
- “a-” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
- “a-” in Store norske leksikon
Anagrams
editNorwegian Nynorsk
editEtymology
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”).
Prefix
edita-
- a- (not, without)
Derived terms
editReferences
edit- “a-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
editAlternative forms
edit- ar-, a-
Etymology
editFrom an earlier form ar-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz-. Cognate with Old High German ar-, ir- (German er-).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
editā-
Derived terms
editDescendants
editOld French
editEtymology
editFrom Latin ad, which was often reduced to a- in compounds.
Prefix
edita-
- indicating movement towards something
- (by extension) indicating a change of state
- intensifying prefix
- alternative form of es-
Derived terms
editOld Irish
editPrefix
editUsage notes
editThis 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
editSee also
editSee 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
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Prefix
edita-
Etymology 2
editBorrowed from Sanskrit अ- (a-, “un-, not”)
Prefix
edita-
Derived terms
editOld Saxon
editEtymology
editFrom an earlier form ar-, from Proto-Germanic *uz-. Cognate with Old English a-, Old High German ar-, ir- (German er-).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- forming words with the sense from, away, out, off, e.g. animan
Derived terms
editPhuthi
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gá-.
Prefix
edita- (medial wa-)
- they; class 6 subject concord.
Polish
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editLearned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- forming words with the sense of negation, a-
- a- + społeczny → aspołeczny
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- a- in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Old Galician-Portuguese a-, from Latin ad-.
Prefix
edita-
- added to adjective X, forms verbs meaning to make/turn X
- added to noun X, forms verbs meaning to cause or make X or to cause something to have X
Etymology 2
editBorrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
Prefix
edita-
Derived terms
editSardinian
editEtymology
editInherited from Classical Latin ad-, from the preposition ad (“to, towards”).
Prefix
edita-
- ad- (toward, to, tendency)
Derived terms
editScots
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Middle English a- (“on”), derived from unstressed Middle English an (“on”), from Old English an (“on”).
Prefix
edita-
- on
- aback, agley, agrufe, athort, atween
Etymology 2
editFrom Middle English a-, from Old English of- (“off”).
Prefix
edita-
- off
- adoon
Etymology 3
editPrefix
edita-
- to
- adae, agae
Etymology 4
editFrom Middle English a- (“up, out, away”), from Old English ā-, originally *ar-, *or-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out-”).
Prefix
edita-
- away from
- abide, arise
Etymology 5
editFrom Middle English and-, from Old English and- (“against, back”), from Proto-Germanic *andi- (“across, opposite, against, away”).
Prefix
edita-
Etymology 6
editFrom Middle English a-, from Old English ane (“one”).
Prefix
edita-
- one
- awhile
Etymology 7
editFrom ah!
Prefix
edita-
- ah
- aweel, alake
Etymology 8
editFrom Middle English a-, from Middle French a-, from Latin ad (“towards”).
Prefix
edita-
- towards
- avise
Etymology 9
editFrom Latin ab (“of, off, from, away”).
Prefix
edita-
- away from
- assoilzie
References
edit- “a, prefix.1” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Serbo-Croatian
editEtymology
editFrom 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
edita- (Cyrillic spelling а-)
- 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
edit- “a-” in Hrvatski jezični portal
Southern Ndebele
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gá-.
Prefix
edita- (medial wa-)
- they; class 6 subject concord.
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gáá-.
Prefix
edita-
- of; class 6 possessive concord.
Etymology 3
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Prefix
edita-
- Class 6 relative concord.
Spanish
editEtymology 1
editPrefix
edita-
- forms words, especially verbs, that denote entering a state, making progress toward a goal, or the like
See also
editEtymology 2
editFrom Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel; generalized from the many Latin borrowings using this prefix.
Prefix
edita-
Usage notes
edit- 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
editFurther reading
edit- “a-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swahili
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Bantu *à-.
Prefix
edita-
- she, he; 3rd person singular (m class(I)) subject concord
- Antonym: ha-
See also
editNumber | 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
editPrefix
edita-
- Contraction of a- + -a- (“3rd person singular (m class(I)) gnomic”).
Swazi
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Bantu *à-.
Prefix
edita- (medial ka-)
See also
edit- u- (in other cases)
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gá-.
Prefix
edita- (medial wa-)
- they; class 6 subject concord.
Etymology 3
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gáá-.
Prefix
edita-
- of; class 6 possessive concord.
Tagalog
editEtymology 1
editBorrowed from Spanish a, from Latin ad.
Pronunciation
edit- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ʔa/ [ʔɐ]
- Syllabification: a-
Prefix
edita- (Baybayin spelling ᜀ)
- 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 15th of every month.
- A-treynta y uno kahapon.
- Yesterday was the 31st.
Usage notes
edit- 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
editEtymology 2
editPronunciation
edit- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔaː]
- Syllabification: a-
Prefix
editá- (Baybayin spelling ᜀ) (dialectal, chiefly Mindoro)
- forms contemplative aspect forms for verbs in the object or directional trigger
Usage notes
edit- 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
editTooro
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Bantu *à-.
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
See also
editReferences
editWelsh
editPronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- affirmative prefix, emphasises prefixed word
Usage notes
editTriggers aspirate mutation of the following consonant.
Derived terms
editMutation
editWelsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
a- | unchanged | unchanged | ha- |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References
edit- 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
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gá-.
Prefix
edita- (medial wa-)
- they; class 6 subject concord.
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gáá-.
Prefix
edita-
- of; class 6 possessive concord.
Etymology 3
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Prefix
edita-
- Class 6 relative concord.
Etymology 4
editFrom Proto-Bantu *nkà-.
Prefix
edita-
Usage notes
editUsed in the indicative mood, prefixed to the subject concord.
Ye'kwana
editALIV | a- |
---|---|
Brazilian standard | a- |
New Tribes | a- |
Pronunciation
editPrefix
edita-
- allomorph of öt- (detransitivizing prefix)
- allomorph of ö- (second-person prefix) used for stems that begin with a consonant and have a first vowel a or e
Inflection
editpronoun | 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- | |||||||
|
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
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Bantu *à-.
Prefix
editá- (medial ká-)
See also
edit- u- (in other cases)
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gá-.
Prefix
editá- (medial wá-)
- they; class 6 subject concord.
Etymology 3
editFrom Proto-Bantu *gáá-.
Prefix
edita-
- of; class 6 possessive concord.
Etymology 4
editOriginally a reduced form of la- (“general demonstrative”). Compare Swazi relative forms such as lesi-, which still keep the initial l-.
Prefix
editā́-
- Used to form relative clauses.
Usage notes
editThis prefix has conditioned allomorphs o- and e-.
Etymology 5
editFrom a- (“relative”) + a- (“class 6”).
Prefix
editā́-
- Class 6 relative concord.
Etymology 6
editFrom Proto-Bantu *nkà-.
Prefix
edita-
Usage notes
editUsed in the indicative mood, prefixed to the subject concord.
Alternative forms
editEtymology 7
editPrefix
edita-
- Alternative form of ma- (hortative)
References
edit- C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “a-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “a-”
- Translingual terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Translingual lemmas
- Translingual prefixes
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- Finnish internationalisms
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- Rhymes:Norwegian Bokmål/ɑː
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- Tagalog terms borrowed from Spanish
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- Tagalog 1-syllable words
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