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Added 10 October 2026

a

/æ/ letter

In Latin: ā Wiktionary

letter Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about a at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
Transliterates the Cyrillic letter а.

symbol

an open front or central unrounded vowel.
[a]-coloring or a weak, fleeting, epenthetic or echo [a].
transliterates Indic अ (or equivalent).

symbol

year, a unit of time. Julian year, 365.25 days.
Julian year, 365.25 days.

symbol

An are, a unit of area one hundredth of a hectare; ares.

Origin

The letter name is from Middle English ā, from Old French, ultimately from Latin ā. Use of the Latin letter in (Old) English displaced the futhorc letter ᚪ (a) beginning in the 7th century, and partially also ᚫ (æ).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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