# a-
## Translingual
### Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”).

### Prefix

a-
* Used to form taxonomic names indicating a lack of some feature that might be expected

#### Derived terms
## English
### Etymology 1

From 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

* IPA: /ə/
* Audio (US):(file)

#### Prefix

a-
* (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

* 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

* IPA: /ə/
* Audio (US):(file)

#### Prefix

a-
* (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]
    aglow, apace, afire, aboil, a-bling, abluster
* (no longer productive) In, into. Also passing into sense 5. [First attested prior to 1150]
    asunder
* In the direction of, or toward. [First attested prior to 1150]
    astern, abeam
* (archaic or dialectal) At such a time. [First attested prior to 1150]
    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]
    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;
** 1947, A NORTH-COUNTY DUBLIN CLOSSARY:
    The hay is a-cutting now. You're a-wanting.
** 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:
    If the van’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’.

##### Usage notes

Adjectives 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

From 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

* i-

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ə/
* Audio (US):(file)

#### Prefix

a-
* 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).]
    aware, alike
* (Devon) Used to form the past participle of a verb.
    I have a-gone.
    I have a-seen a bird.

### Etymology 4

From Anglo-Norman a-, from Old French e-, from Latin ex-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ə/
* Audio (US):(file)

#### Prefix

a-
* (no longer productive) Forming words with the sense of wholly, or utterly out. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]
    abash

### Etymology 5

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately followed by a vowel).

#### Pronunciation

* (US, UK) IPA: /eɪ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* (Philippines) IPA: /ə/, /a/ (not in atheist)

#### Prefix

a-
* 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

* 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. For example, anesthetic and analgesic.

##### Synonyms

* (not): an-, dys-, i-/il-/im-/in-/ir-, mal-, non-, un-

##### Translations
### Etymology 6

From Middle English a-, from Middle French a-, from Latin ad (“towards”).

#### Prefix

a-
* (no longer productive) Towards; Used to indicate direction, reduction to, increase to, change into, or motion. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]
    ascend, aspire, amass, abandon, avenue

##### Usage notes

* Used on stems that started with sc, sp, or st, and also used on stems with a French origin.
* Used in place of ad-.

### Etymology 7

From Latin ab (“of, off, from, away”).

#### Prefix

a-
* (no longer productive) Away from. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.]
    avert, aperient, abridge, assoil, assoilzie

##### Usage notes

* Variation of the prefix ab-, only used when the stem starts with the letter p or v, or (rarely) s in which case the s is doubled (as in assoil and assoilzie).

### Etymology 8

From Middle English a-, o- (“of”). See a (preposition, of).

#### Prefix

a-
* (no longer productive) Of, from. [First attested prior to 1150.]
    anew, afresh, athirst

##### Usage notes

Different 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
#### References

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Brown, Lesley (2003)
* ↑ J. J. Hogan and Patrick C. O'Neill (1947) “A NORTH-COUNTY DUBLIN GLOSSARY”, in Béaloideas‎, volume 17, number 1/2, An Cumann Le Béaloideas Eireann/Folklore of lreland Society, page 263
* ↑ See “Don’t Come A-Knockin’”, TV Tropes for more examples and discussion.
* 1 2 3 4 Urdang, Laurence (1984)
* ↑ Lindberg, Christine A. (2007)
* 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.

### Etymology 9
#### Prefix

a-
* 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
#### Prefix

a-
* (Chester) Used as a prefix to verbs in the sense of remaining in the same condition. Actively doing something.
    a-be, a-going
    Let that choilt a-be, wilt ta. ― Let that child alone, will you.

#### References

* 1 2 Robert Holland, M.R.A.C., A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, Part I--A to F., English Dialect Society, London, 1884, 1

## A-Pucikwar
### Prefix

a-
* prefix attached to words relating to the mouth, such as the names of languages

## Catalan
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

#### Prefix

a-
* a- (not, without)
    ‎a- + ‎moral (“moral”) → ‎amoral (“amoral”)

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

From Latin ad (“towards”).

#### Prefix

a-
* used to make verbs from adjectives and nouns
    ‎a- + ‎feble (“weak”) → ‎afeblir (“to weaken”)
    ‎a- + ‎sabor (“taste”) → ‎assaborir (“to taste”)

##### Derived terms
### Further reading

* “a-” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “a-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “a-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

## Danish
### Etymology

From 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

a-
* a-, un- (not)
* A- (atomic, nuclear)
    Synonyms: atom-, A-

#### Alternative forms

* an-

#### Derived terms
## Dutch
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /aː/
* Audio:(file)

### Prefix

a-
* a-: not, without, opposite of

#### See also

* an-

## Esperanto
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

### Prefix

a-
* without, -less

#### Related terms

* mal-, ne-, sen-

## Finnish
### Etymology

Internationalism (see English a-), ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɑ-/, [ˈɑ̝-]

### Prefix

a-
* (in loanwords) a-, non-, un-
    Synonym: epä-

## Franco-Provençal
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad-.

### Prefix

a- (ORB)
* Attaches to verbs, sometimes adding a sense of "toward".

#### Derived terms
## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French a-, from Latin ad-.

#### Prefix

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

### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel; generalized from the many Latin borrowings using this prefix.

#### Prefix

a-
* a-, non-, -less

### Further reading

* “a-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Galician
### Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese a-, from Latin ad-.

#### Prefix

a-
* added to adjective X, forms verbs meaning to make/turn X
    ‎a- + ‎curto (“short”) + ‎-ar → ‎acurtar (“to shorten”)
* 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”)

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

#### Prefix

a-
* a- (not; without)
    Synonym: in-

### Derived terms
## German
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/
* Audio:(file)

### Prefix

a-
* a- (not, without, opposite of)

#### Further reading

* “a-” in Duden online
* “a-” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Hanunoo
### Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ha- (adjectival prefix for adjectives of measure). Compare Bikol Central ha- and Cebuano ha-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʔa/ [ʔa]
* Syllabification: a-

### Prefix

a- (Hanunoo spelling ᜠ)
* adjectival prefix to words denoting height, length, or depth

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ha-₁”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From 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

* IPA: [a]
* Hyphenation: a

### Prefix

a-
* a- (not, without, opposite of)

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* “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
### Alternative forms

* ai- (before a palatalized consonant, both etymologies)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/, /ə/

### Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately followed by a vowel).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/

#### Prefix

a-
* a- (not, without, opposite of)

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

a-
* Alternative form of ath- used before t

## Italian
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin ad-.

#### Prefix

a-
* ad- (indicating direction)

##### Usage notes

* 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

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

#### Prefix

a-
* a- (indicating lack or loss)

##### Alternative forms

* an- (before a vowel)

### Derived terms
## Japanese
### Romanization

a-
* Rōmaji transcription of あ

## Japhug
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/

### Prefix

a-
* (Kamnyu) my

#### See also

Japhug (Kamnyu) personal pronouns and possessive prefixes :
| Number | Person | Possessive prefixes | Free pronoun | Genitive |
| Singular | 1st | a- | aʑo, aj | aʑɯɣ |
| Singular | 2nd | nɤ- | nɤʑo, nɤj | nɤʑɯɣ |
| Singular | 3rd | ɯ- | ɯʑo | ɯʑɤɣ |
| Dual | 1st | tɕi- | tɕiʑo | tɕiʑɤɣ |
| Dual | 2nd | ndʑi- | ndʑiʑo | ndʑiʑɤɣ |
| Dual | 3rd | ndʑi- | ʑɤni | ʑɤniɣɯ |
| Plural | 1st | i- | iʑo, iʑora, iʑɤra | iʑɤɣ, iʑɤra ɣɯ |
| Plural | 2nd | nɯ- | nɯʑo, nɯʑora, nɯʑɤra | nɯʑɤɣ, nɯʑɤra ɣɯ |
| Plural | 3rd | nɯ- | ʑara | ʑaraɣ, ʑara ɣɯ |
| Generic | Generic | tɯ- | tɯʑo | |

## Latin
### Etymology 1
#### Prefix

ā-
* Alternative form of ab-

##### Usage notes

Used before bilabial voiced consonants: b-, m- and v-.

### Etymology 2

From ad (“towards”).

#### Prefix

a-
* (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
### Etymology

Via other European languages, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [a]
* Audio:(file)

### Prefix

a-
* Not, not having, without, opposite of.
    ‎a- + ‎seksuāls → ‎aseksuāls

## Mohawk
### Alternative forms

* aon- (before s- (“iterative”) and t- (“cislocative”))

### Prefix

a-
* irrealis prefix

### References

* Nora Deering, Helga H. Delisle (1976) Mohawk: A teaching grammar (preliminary version), Quebec: Manitou College, page 332

## Murui Huitoto
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [a-]

### Prefix

a-
* (unproductive) Used to form a few adverbs signifying a location or motion from or to above.

#### Related terms

* aa

### References

* Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎, Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 145

## Navajo
### Prefix

a-
* someone's, people's

#### Usage notes

This 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

* á-
* ał-
* ahił-

## Neapolitan
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad-.

### Prefix

a-
* compare Italian a-

#### Derived terms
## Northern Ndebele
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

#### Prefix

a- (medial wa-)
* they; class 6 subject concord.

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

#### Prefix

a-
* of; class 6 possessive concord.

### Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Prefix

a-
* Class 6 relative concord.

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology 1

From 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

* IPA: /ɑː/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɑː
* Hyphenation: a-
* Homophones: A, a, A-, à, ah

#### Prefix

a-
* indicating the first or best in something
    Synonyms: a, A-
    ‎a- + ‎lag → ‎a-lag

### Etymology 2

From 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

a-
* 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

* an-

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

Clipping 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

a-
* Short for atom-.
    ‎a- + ‎bombe → ‎a-bombe

### References

* “a-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “a-” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
* “a-” in Store norske leksikon

### Anagrams

* A, A-, a

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not, without”).

### Prefix

a-
* a- (not, without)

#### Derived terms
### References

* “a-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old English
### Alternative forms

* ar-, a-

### Etymology

From an earlier form ar-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz-. Cognate with Old High German ar-, ir- (German er-).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɑː/

### Prefix

ā-
* from, away, off, out
    āniman ― to take away, to remove

#### Descendants

* Middle English: a-
** English: a-

## Old French
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad-, which was often reduced to a- in compounds.

### Prefix

a-
* indicating movement towards something
* (by extension) indicating a change of state
* intensifying prefix
* alternative form of es-

#### Derived terms
## Old Irish
### Prefix

a- (class A infixed pronoun)
* him (triggers eclipsis)
* it (triggers lenition)

#### Usage notes

This 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).

#### See also

$^L$ 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
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/

### Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Prefix

a-
* stative/active verb forming
    Synonyms: (m)aN-, -um-
* adjective forming

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sanskrit अ- (a-, “un-, not”)

#### Prefix

a-
* un-, not

### Derived terms
## Old Saxon
### Etymology

From an earlier form ar-, from Proto-Germanic *uz-. Cognate with Old English a-, Old High German ar-, ir- (German er-).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɑː/

### Prefix

a-
* forming words with the sense from, away, out, off, e.g. animan

#### Derived terms
## Paraujano
### Alternative forms

* e-, o-

### Prefix

a-
* Indefinite suffix, used with inalienable nouns, prepositions and non-stative verbs when no person prefix is added.
    achee ― [someone's] ear

### References

* Álvarez, José, Bravo, María (2008) “a-”, in Diccionario básico de la lengua añú [Basic dictionary of the Añú language]‎, Maracaibo, Venezuela: University of Zulia, →ISBN, page 41.

## Phuthi
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

### Prefix

a- (medial wa-)
* they; class 6 subject concord.

## Polish
### Alternative forms

* an-

### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -a
* Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]
* Homophones: a, -a

### Prefix

a-
* forming words with the sense of negation, a-
    ‎a- + ‎społeczny → ‎aspołeczny

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* a- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /a/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ɐ/
* Homophones: A, a, à, há

### Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese a-, from Latin ad-.

#### Prefix

a-
* added to adjective X, forms verbs meaning to make/turn X
    ‎a- + ‎vermelho (“red”) + ‎-ar → ‎avermelhar (“to redden”)
    ‎a- + ‎baixo (“low”) + ‎-ar → ‎abaixar (“to lower”)
* added to noun X, forms verbs meaning to cause or make X or to cause something to have X
    ‎a- + ‎pavor (“dread”) + ‎-ar → ‎apavorar (“to frighten”)
    ‎a- + ‎fama (“fame”) + ‎-ar → ‎afamar (“to make famous”)

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

#### Alternative forms

* an- (before a vowel sound)

#### Prefix

a-
* a- (not; without)
    Synonym: in-
    amoral ― amoral
    anaeróbio ― anaerobic

### Derived terms
## Sardinian
### Etymology

Inherited from Classical Latin ad-, from the preposition ad (“to, towards”).

### Prefix

a-
* ad- (toward, to, tendency)

#### Derived terms
## Scots
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ə/

### Etymology 1

From Middle English a- (“on”), derived from unstressed Middle English an (“on”), from Old English an (“on”).

#### Prefix

a-
* on
    aback, agley, agrufe, athort, atween

### Etymology 2

From Middle English a-, from Old English of- (“off”).

#### Prefix

a-
* off
    adoon

### Etymology 3

From Old Norse at- (“to”).

#### Prefix

a-
* to
    adae, agae

### Etymology 4

From Middle English a- (“up, out, away”), from Old English ā-, originally *ar-, *or-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out-”).

#### Prefix

a-
* away from
    abide, arise

### Etymology 5

From Middle English and-, from Old English and- (“against, back”), from Proto-Germanic *andi- (“across, opposite, against, away”).

#### Prefix

a-
* against, opposite
    alang

### Etymology 6

From Middle English a-, from Old English ane (“one”).

#### Prefix

a-
* one
    awhile

### Etymology 7

From ah!

#### Prefix

a-
* ah
    aweel, alake

### Etymology 8

From Middle English a-, from Middle French a-, from Latin ad (“towards”).

#### Prefix

a-
* towards
    avise

### Etymology 9

From Latin ab (“of, off, from, away”).

#### Prefix

a-
* away from
    assoilzie

### References

* “a, prefix.$^1$”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

From 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

a- (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

* “a-”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

## Sicilian
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad-, from the preposition ad (“to, towards”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/

### Prefix

a-
* added to adjective or noun to create a verb, along with the suffixes -ari or -iri.
    ‎a- + ‎capu (“end”) + ‎-ari → ‎accapari (“to end”)

#### Derived terms
## Southern Ndebele
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

#### Prefix

a- (medial wa-)
* they; class 6 subject concord.

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

#### Prefix

a-
* of; class 6 possessive concord.

### Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Prefix

a-
* Class 6 relative concord.

## Spanish
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin ad-.

#### Prefix

a-
* forms words, especially verbs, that denote entering a state, making progress toward a goal, or the like

##### See also

* en-

### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (ἀν- (an-) immediately preceding a vowel; generalized from the many Latin borrowings using this prefix.

#### Prefix

a-
* a-, non-, -less

##### Usage notes

* 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”).

### Further reading

* “a-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swahili
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

#### Prefix

a-
* she, he; 3rd person singular (m class$_{(I)}$) subject concord
    Antonym: ha-

##### See also
### Etymology 2
#### Prefix

a-
* Contraction of a- + -a- (“3rd person singular (m class$_{(I)}$) gnomic”).

## Swazi
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

#### Prefix

a- (medial ka-)
* he, she, it; class 1 subject concord, used in the subjunctive and potential mood.

##### See also

* u- (in other cases)

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

#### Prefix

a- (medial wa-)
* they; class 6 subject concord.

### Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

#### Prefix

a-
* of; class 6 possessive concord.

## Tagal Murut
### Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-, from Proto-Austronesian *ma- (stative prefix).

### Prefix

a-
* used to form adjectives indicating a quality
    ‎a- + ‎amis (“sweetness”) → ‎a-amis (“sweet”)
    ‎a- + ‎laat (“badness”) → ‎a-laat (“bad”)

## Tagalog
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish a, from Latin ad.

#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ʔa/ [ʔɐ]
* Syllabification: a-

#### Prefix

a- (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

* 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
### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔaː]
* Syllabification: a-

#### Prefix

á- (Baybayin spelling ᜀ) (dialectal, chiefly Mindoro)
* forms contemplative aspect forms for verbs in the object or directional trigger

##### Usage notes

* 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

* ga-
* maga-
* naga-

## Tashelhit
### Etymology

From Proto-Berber.

### Prefix

a-.
* the masculine form of nouns.
* the masculine form of adjectives.

## Tooro
### Alternative forms

* (before -a- or subjunctive -e-) y-
* (before vowels in other cases) ay-

### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a-/

### Prefix

a-
* he, she; class 1 subject concord
    ‎a- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎akora (“he/she does”)

#### See also
### References

* Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎, Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 413

## Welsh
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a/

### Prefix

a-
* affirmative prefix, emphasises prefixed word
    ‎a- + ‎trist (“sad”) → ‎athrist (“very sad, sorrowful”)
    ‎a- + ‎traidd (“piercing, penetration”) → ‎athraidd (“permeable”)

#### Usage notes

Triggers aspirate mutation of the following consonant.

#### Derived terms
### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* 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
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

#### Prefix

a- (medial wa-)
* they; class 6 subject concord.

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

#### Prefix

a-
* of; class 6 possessive concord.

### Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Prefix

a-
* Class 6 relative concord.

### Etymology 4

From Proto-Bantu *nkà-.

#### Prefix

a-
* not

##### Usage notes

Used in the indicative mood, prefixed to the subject concord.

## Ye'kwana
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [a-]

### Prefix

a-
* 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

| | pronoun | noun possessor/ series II verb argument | noun possessor/ series II verb argument | postposition object | postposition object | series I verb argument | series I verb argument | series I verb argument | series I verb argument | series I verb argument |
| | pronoun | noun possessor/ series II verb argument | noun possessor/ series II verb argument | postposition object | postposition object | transitive patient | intransitive patient-like | intransitive patient-like | intransitive agent-like | transitive agent |
| first person | ewü | y-, ∅-, ü-, u-$^1$ | y-, ∅-, ü-, u-$^1$ | y-, ∅-, ü-, u-$^1$ | y-, ∅-, ü-, u-$^1$ | y-, ∅-, ü-, u-$^1$ | y-, ∅-, ü-, u-$^1$ | w-, wi- | w-, wi- | w-, wi- |
| first person dual inclusive | küwü | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- | k-, kii-, ki-$^1$ |
| second person | amödö | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- | m-, mi- | m-, mi- |
| first person dual exclusive | nña | y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-$^1$ | y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-$^1$ | y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-$^1$ | chö- | ∅- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- |
| third person | tüwü | y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-$^1$ | y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-$^1$ | y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-$^1$ | chö- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- | n-, ni- |
| distant past third person | tüwü | — | — | — | — | kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini- | kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini- | kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini- | kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini- | kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini- |
| coreferential/reflexive | — | t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te- | t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te- | t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te- | t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te- | — | — | — | — | — |
| reciprocal | — | — | öö- | öö- | öö- | öö- | öö- | öö- | öö- | öö- |
| With following vowel lengthened if in an unreduced open syllable. |||||||||||
| | series I verb argument: transitive agent and transitive patient |
| first person > second person | mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni- |
| first person dual exclusive > second person | mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni- |
| second person > first person | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- |
| second person > first person dual exclusive | k-, kü-, ku-, ki- |
| third person > any person X …or… any person X > third person | see person X in the chart above |

## Zulu
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *à-.

#### Prefix

á- (medial ká-)
* he, she, it; class 1 subject concord, used in the subjunctive and potential mood.

##### See also

* u- (in other cases)

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

#### Prefix

á- (medial wá-)
* they; class 6 subject concord.

### Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gáá-.

#### Prefix

a-
* of; class 6 possessive concord.

### Etymology 4

Originally a reduced form of la- (“general demonstrative”). Compare Swazi relative forms such as lesi-, which still keep the initial l-.

#### Prefix

ā́-
* Used to form relative clauses.

##### Usage notes

This prefix has conditioned allomorphs o- and e-.

### Etymology 5

From a- (“relative”) +‎ a- (“class 6”).

#### Prefix

ā́-
* Class 6 relative concord.

### Etymology 6

From Proto-Bantu *nkà-.

#### Prefix

a-
* not

##### Usage notes

Used in the indicative mood, prefixed to the subject concord.

##### Alternative forms

* ka-

### Etymology 7
#### Prefix

a-
* Alternative form of ma- (hortative)

### References

* C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “a-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “a-”