a-

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

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]^[1]

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

4. (no longer productive) In, into. Also passing into sense 5. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   asunder

6. In the direction of, or toward. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   astern, abeam

8. (archaic or dialectal) At such a time. [First attested prior to 1150]^[1]

   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]^[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’.

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).]^[1]

   aware, alike

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

   I have a-gone.

   I have a-seen a bird.

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.]^[1]

   abash

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.

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.]^[1]

   ascend, aspire, amass, abandon, avenue

Prefix

a-

2. (no longer productive) Away from. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]^[1]

   avert, aperient, abridge, assoil,^[3] assoilzie

Prefix

a-

2. (no longer productive) Of, from. [First attested prior to 1150.]^[1]

   anew, afresh, athirst^[3]

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 (2001–2025) “a-”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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

Prefix

a-

2. (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

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not, without)

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

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

Derived terms

See also

• an-

Derived terms

Related terms

• mal-, ne-, sen-

Derived terms

Prefix

a-

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

Prefix

a-

1. a-, non-, -less

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”)

Prefix

a-

1. a- (not; without)

   Synonym: in-