# -आ
## Hindi
### Pronunciation

* (Delhi) IPA: /ɑː/, [äː]

### Etymology 1

From a merger of a few sources, but in all cases from Proto-Indo-Iranian *-kas, from Proto-Indo-European *-kos:
* Inherited from Old Hindi -आ (-ā), from older -औ (-au), from Apabhramsa -अउ m (-aü, nominative), from Prakrit -𑀅𑀑 (-ao), -𑀅𑀬𑁄 (-ayo), -𑀅𑀕𑁄 m (-ago, nominative), from Sanskrit -अकः ~ -अको m (-akaḥ ~ -ako, agentive suffix, variant nominative forms based on sandhi). Doublet of -अक (-ak).
* From historic a-stems extended by Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-), from Sanskrit -क (-ka). Doublet of -क (-ka).
* Borrowed from Classical Persian ـه (-â), from Middle Persian -k' (-ag), from Proto-Iranian *-akah.

#### Suffix

-आ • (-ā) m
* suffix found in many masculine nouns of both Indo-Aryan and Perso-Arabic origin
* forms some nouns with agentive meaning from verbs or nouns
    ‎उचकना (ucaknā, “to jump, leap”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎उचक्का (ucakkā, “thief, pickpocket”)
    ‎रसोई (rasoī, “kitchen”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎रसोइया (rasoiyā, “chef”)
* forms some nouns with possessive meaning
    बहु- (bahu-, “multi-”) + मंज़िल (manzil, “storey”) + -आ (-ā) → बहुमंज़िला (bahumanzilā, “multi-storey”) (lit. "having many storeys")
* forms adjectives from nouns, showing a property
    ‎झूठ (jhūṭh, “lie”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎झूठा (jhūṭhā, “false, fake, liar”)
    ‎भूख (bhūkh, “hunger”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎भूखा (bhūkhā, “hungry, famished”)

##### Declension

As a noun:
An an adjective:

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Hindi -आ m (-ā) ~ -ई f (-ī), leveled (when not after vowels) from older -या m (-yā) / -यौ (-yau) ~ -ई f (-ī), from Apabhramsa -इअउ m (-iaü) ~ -ईअ f (-īa, nominative), from Prakrit -इअ m (-ia) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-). See there for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-tós. The -y- which surfaces when this suffix occurs after a vowel is a reflex of -i- in -इअ (-ia).
Doublet of -इत (-it) and -त (-ta). Cognate with Punjabi -ਈਆ (-īā) and distantly English -ed.

#### Alternative forms

* -या (-yā) (after vowels)

#### Suffix

-आ • (-ā)
* Marks the perfective participle
    ‎कह (kah, “say”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎कहा (kahā, “said”)
    ‎देख (dekh, “see”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎देखा (dekhā, “seen”)

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 3

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit -आ (-ā), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *-aH, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂. Distantly cognate with Latin -a.

#### Suffix

-आ • (-ā) f
* forms the feminine form of the nouns
    ‎पुष्प (puṣp, “flower”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎पुष्पा (puṣpā, “flower, female given name”)
* forms feminine form of the adjectives
    ‎हरित (harit, “green”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎हरिता (haritā, “green”)

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 4

Borrowed from Classical Persian ـه (-â), from Arabic ـَة (-a).

#### Suffix

-आ • (-ā) f
* forms the feminine form of some Perso-Arabic agent nouns
    ‎साहिर (sāhir, “enchanter”) + ‎-आ (-ā) → ‎साहिरा (sāhirā, “enchantress”)

##### Derived terms
### References

* ↑ Jaroslav Strnad (2013) Morphology and Syntax of Old Hindī : Edition and Analysis of One Hundred Kabīr Vānī Poems From Rājasthān (Brill's Indological Library; 45), Leiden, →OCLC, page 187
* ↑ Jaroslav Strnad (2013) Morphology and Syntax of Old Hindī : Edition and Analysis of One Hundred Kabīr Vānī Poems From Rājasthān (Brill's Indological Library; 45), Leiden, →OCLC, page 423
* ↑ McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “-आ”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press, page 77

## Sanskrit
### Alternative scripts

* -ᬆ (Balinese script)
* -အာ (Burmese script)
* -आ (Devanagari script)
* -ਆ (Gurmukhi script)
* -𑌆 (Grantha script)
* -ꦄꦴ (Javanese script)
* -𑂄 (Kaithi script)
* -អា (Khmer script)
* -ອາ (Lao script)
* -ആ (Malayalam script)
* -ᠠᢇ (Manchu script)
* -𑘁 (Modi script)
* -ᠠ᠋᠎ᠠ (Mongolian script)
* -𑦡 (Nandinagari script)
* -𑐁 (Newa script)
* -ଆ (Odia script)
* -ꢃ (Saurashtra script)
* -𑆄 (Sharada script)
* -𑖁 (Siddham script)
* -ආ (Sinhalese script)
* -𑩐𑩛 (Soyombo script)
* -𑚁 (Takri script)
* -ஆ (Tamil script)
* -อา (Thai script)
* -ཨཱ (Tibetan script)
* -𑨀𑨊 (Zanabazar Square script)

### Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *-aH, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂. Cognate with Ancient Greek -η (-ē) and Latin -a.

### Suffix

-आ • (-ā) f
* feminine of -अ (-a)

#### Derived terms
### References

* ↑ McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “-आ”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press, page 77