A. Abbreviat. A, THE first letter of the alphabet, in all the known languages of the world, that of Ethiopia excepted, in which it is the 13th. It has deservedly the first place in the alphabet, on account of its simplicity, very little more being necessary to its pronunciation than opening the mouth.
In the English language A is the mark of three different sounds; termed, by our grammarians, the broad, the open, and the slender A. The first resembles that of the German A, is found in several monosyllables, as wall, salt, &c. and is pronounced as au in cause. It is probable that the Saxons expressed only this broad sound of the letter, as it is still commonly retained in the northern districts of England, and universally throughout Scotland; as, tauk for talk, wauk for walk or wake.—The open A resembles that of the Italians in adagio, and is the same with that of a in father, rather, &c. The slender sound is peculiar to the English language, and resembles the sound of the French diphthong ai in pair, or their a masculine, or perhaps it is a middle sound between them. This is exemplified in place, waste, &c. also in toleration, justification, and all other words ending with ation.
A is sometimes added after words in burlesque poetry; in which case it only makes an additional syllable without any alteration of the sense, as the interjection O very often does in our ballads. It is also sometimes redundant, as in the words arise, awake, &c. which are not different in signification from rise, wake, &c.
It is sometimes a word, either noun or interjection; in which last case, it is commonly an expression of grief, and joined with the aspirate, as ab! When a noun, it is only with respect to itself; as great A, little a, &c.
A is very frequently used as an article; in which case it has no plural signification, and is used to denote the number one, as a house, a field, &c. When placed as an article before any of the vowels, y and w only excepted, it is joined with the letter n; as an island, an orator, &c.—In the three following cases it is a preposition: 1. When it goes before a participle, or noun derived from a participle; as, I am a doing this or that. 2. When used before local furnames; as Cornelius a Lapide, Thomas a Kempis, &c. 3. When it is used in composition; as, a foot, a sleep, &c. In some instances it denotes the proportion of one thing to another; as, so much a week, a man, a head, &c.
A, among the ancients, was a numeral letter, and
Vol. I. Part I.
signified 500; and when a dash was added on the top, , 5000.