-a
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Page categories
Translingual
Etymology
Suffix
-a
- Used to create genus names from proper nouns
- Used to take the form of certain plural Latin-derived taxonomic names
Derived terms
English
Etymology 1
From the homographic case endings of the nominative, accusative, and vocative forms of numerous Latin neuter second declension nouns.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ɑ/, /ə/
Audio (US): (file)
Suffix
-a
Usage notes
- Whereas the regular pluralization in English involves adding -s or -es, English words derived from a Latin/Greek etymon where the Latin/Greek would pluralize from -on (Greek) or -um (Latin) to -a do not always do so. Usage of -a instead of -s differs between words: sometimes the two are interchangeable (e.g. memorandums/memoranda, polyhedrons/polyhedra), sometimes one is far more common than the other (e.g. neurons over neura, automata over automatons), and sometimes one is completely absent from usage (e.g. bacteria over bacteriums, dendrons over dendra)
- The word data is etymologically the plural of datum but is commonly regarded as an uncountable noun.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
Etymology 2
Representing the nominative singular case ending of Latin first-declension feminine nouns.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: ə, IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
- Marks singular nouns, with a foundation in Greek or Latin, often implying femininity, especially when contrasted with words terminating in -us.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “feminine suffix”): he-
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
-a
Etymology 4
Shortened form of verb have.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
-a
- (slang) Alternative form of 've.
Etymology 5
Equivalent to Etymology 2, representing Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish feminine nouns.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
-a
- Marks nouns, with a foundation in Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese, implying femininity.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “female suffix”): he-
Etymology 6
Added especially for metrical reasons, or as an empty filler syllable. Also used to imitate an Italian accent.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/, /eɪ/
Suffix
-a
- Added for metrical reasons to songs, poetry and verse, or as an empty filler syllable to other speech.
- c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- A merry heart goes all the day
Your sad tires in a mile-a
- 1936 July 18, Leon Schlesinger (producer) / Norman Spencer (music), I Love to Singa:
- I love to sing-a / about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a, / I love to sing-a / about a sky of blue-a, or a tea for two-a.
- 1980s, Herb Owen, “Wanna”, in Kids Sing Praise[3], performed by Kids Sing Praise:
- I wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna really wanna be just like the Lord
So every day Im gonna gonna read the Book and rest upon-a God's own holy Word
Of good in me there's none-a none-a that's okay because I'm gonna trust upon the work that's done-a on the Cross
and Jesus is the one-a one-a God the Father's Son-a Son-a and my sin He cures!
- 1981, Colin Hay, Ron Strykert, performed by Men At Work, Down Under:
- Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six-foot-four and full of muscle
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich […]
- 2014, Don Pendleton, California Hit, Open Road Media, →ISBN:
- "I'm-a tell-a you why you better be. I named you in my will, Franco."
Alternative forms
Etymology 7
Shortened version of preposition of.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
-a
- (slang) Clitic form of o' (contraction of of).
- 1946, Elizabeth Metzger Howard, Before the Sun Goes Down, page 31:
Etymology 8
Shortened version of verb to.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
-a
- (informal) to (infinitive marker)
Etymology 9
Shortened version of verb do.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ə/
Suffix
-a
- (informal) do (infinitive marker)
- what-a
- 1988, Living Colour, “Funny Vibe”, Epic:
- Yeah, Flav, I'm tired of them dissing brothers in the P.E. out there, we got to do something about this/(What-a we do? What-a we do?)
See also
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.
Abau
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-a/
Suffix
-a
- indicates intensity or repetition of a verbal action
References
SIL International (2020) “Abau Dictionary”, in Webonary.org[4]
Albanian
Etymology 1
Related to e (“of, the, to”) and -e.
Article
-a f
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Suffix
-a
Basque
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a
- Absolutive singular suffix.
- Liburua ekarri al duzu? ― Did you bring the book?
Usage notes
- The suffix -a is usually described as an article. However, its usage is not equivalent to that of English the or a. In Basque, every nominal phrase must carry a determiner, which usually takes the final position in the phrase. Although many others exist, -a is the default determiner which introduces no additional meaning. Compare the following sentences. In the first two, the determiners (-a and hau (“this”)) apply to the noun phrase etxe handi (“big house”); while in the last two they apply separately to etxe (“house”) and handi (“big”):
- Etxe handia da. ― It is a big house.
- Etxe handi hau da. ― It is this big house.
- Etxea handia da. ― The house is big.
- Etxe hau handia da. ― This house is big.
- In Standard Basque, nouns ending in -a in their indefinite form (known in Basque as a itsatsia (literally “attached a”)) don't change when the article is added:
Declension
indefinite | singular | plural | proximal plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
absolutive | -∅ | -a | -ak | -ok | |
ergative | -(e)k | -ak | -ek | ||
dative | -(r)i | -ari | -ei | -oi | |
genitive | -(r)en | -aren | -en | -on | |
comitative | -(r)ekin | -arekin | -ekin | -okin | |
causative | -(r)engatik | -arengatik | -engatik | -ongatik | |
benefactive | -(r)entzat | -arentzat | -entzat | -ontzat | |
instrumental | -(e)z | -az | -ez | -oz | |
inessive | anim | -(r)engan | -arengan | -engan | -ongan |
inan | -(e)tan | -an | -etan | -otan | |
locative | anim | ―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
inan | -(e)tako | -(e)ko | -etako | -otako | |
allative | anim | -(r)engana | -arengana | -engana | -ongana |
inan | -(e)tara | -(e)ra | -etara | -otara | |
terminative | anim | -(r)enganaino | -arenganaino | -enganaino | -onganaino |
inan | -(e)taraino | -(e)raino | -etaraino | -otaraino | |
directive | anim | -(r)enganantz | -arenganantz | -enganantz | -onganantz |
inan | -(e)tarantz | -(e)rantz | -etarantz | -otarantz | |
destinative | anim | -(r)enganako | -arenganako | -enganako | -onganako |
inan | -(e)tarako | -(e)rako | -etarako | -otarako | |
ablative | anim | -(r)engandik | -arengandik | -engandik | -ongandik |
inan | -(e)tatik | -(e)tik | -etik | -otik | |
partitive | -(r)ik | ―
|
―
|
―
| |
prolative | -tzat | ―
|
―
|
―
|
Further reading
- “bat zenbatzailea / -a artikulua (batzuk/-ak)”, in Euskara Batuaren Eskuliburua [Handbook of Standard Basque], Euskaltzaindia, 2023
- “a itsatsia”, in Euskara Batuaren Eskuliburua [Handbook of Standard Basque], Euskaltzaindia, 2023
Etymology 2
Particle
-a
- (Navarro-Lapurdian) Used to form yes/no questions.
- Liburua ekarri duzuia? ― Did you bring the book?
Usage notes
- It takes different forms depending on the ending of the verb:
- -a + -a → -ea
- -e + -a → -ea
- -o + -a → -oa, -oia
- -u + -a → -uia, -ia
- Other dialects use the unrelated particle al.
Further reading
- “-a galde-partikula”, in Euskara Batuaren Eskuliburua [Handbook of Standard Basque], Euskaltzaindia, 2023
Catalan
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a f (noun-forming suffix, plural -es)
Suffix
-a
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Inherited from Latin -at, the third-person singular present active indicative ending of first conjugation verbs.
Suffix
-a (verb)
Etymology 3
Inherited from Latin -ā (second-person singular present active imperative ending of first conjugation verbs).
Suffix
-a (verb)
- forms the second-person singular imperative mood of -ar verbs
Cebuano
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Austronesian *-a (“imperative suffix”).
Suffix
-a
- creates imperative forms of verbs
Cornish
Etymology 1
From Proto-Brythonic *-aβ̃, from Proto-Celtic *-a-mā.
Suffix
-a
- Verbal suffix
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Brythonic *-haβ̃, from Proto-Celtic *-isamos. Cognate with Welsh -af.
Suffix
-a
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ a]
Suffix
-a m anim (noun-forming suffix)
- forms agent nouns referring to male people
- posrat (“to shit oneself”) + -a → posera (“coward”)
- nafouknout (“to inflate, to blow up”) + -a → náfuka (“bighead, conceited person”)
Suffix
-a f (noun-forming suffix)
- forms nouns referring to results of processes
Derived terms
Further reading
- -a in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Suffix
-a
Esperanto
Etymology
From feminine singular adjectives (and nouns) of the Romance languages, such as French ma, Italian mia, Spanish mía, fría.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
- Rhymes: -a
- Hyphenation: -a
Audio: (file)
Suffix
-a
- Related to, in the manner of, of. Ending for all adjectives in Esperanto.
- Belonging to, of. Ending for all possessive pronouns in Esperanto.
- Used to form the ordinal numeral.
- -kind of. Ending of all correlatives of kind in Esperanto.
Derived terms
Faroese
Suffix
-a
- Used to form verbs from nouns.
- Used to form adverbs from adjectives.
Finnish
Alternative forms
- -ä (in words with front vowel harmony)
Etymology 1
From Proto-Finnic *-da (variant of *-ta, whence -ta), from the Proto-Uralic ablative case *-ta.
Suffix
-a (front vowel harmony variant -ä, linguistic notation -A)
- (case suffix) Forms the partitive case of nouns, adjectives, numbers and some pronouns.
Usage notes
- This suffix is used after a short vowel or the plural marker -j-.
- See the appendix on Finnish nominal cases for more information on how the partitive case is used.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Finnic *-dak.
Suffix
-a (front vowel harmony variant -ä, linguistic notation -A)
- (verbal suffix) Forms the short form of the first infinitive of verbs.
Usage notes
- The first infinitive, short form, is the citation form of verbs.
See also
French
Etymology
From Latin -āt, short counterpart to -āvit.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
Audio: (file)
Suffix
-a
- forms the third-person singular past historic of -er verbs
Gagauz
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ/
Suffix
-a
- alternative form of -ä during vowel harmony with back vowels
Garo
Suffix
-a
- neutral, unmarked tense-aspect marker
Usage notes
In addition to present time, it often shows habitual action, and can also past and future
Gothic
Romanization
-a
- romanization of -𐌰
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɒ]
Audio: (file)
Etymology 1
From the Proto-Uralic *sᴕ̈ third-person personal pronoun of the ancestor language after it was appended to the word of possession. According to some linguists this attachment happened in the Proto-Uralic era, while others think it happened much later when the Hungarian language became independent.[1]
Suffix
-a
- Possessive (and genitive) suffix: [from 1055]
- (with no possessor or with the 3rd‑person pronoun as possessor, usually construed with the definite article) his, her, its …
- ház → (a) háza, az ő háza (“his/her/its house”) élet → (az) élete, az ő élete (“his/her/its life”) barát → (a) barátja (“his/her/its friend”) kapu → (a) kapuja (“his/her/its gate”) palota → (a) palotája (“his/her/its palace”) kert → (a) kertje (“his/her/its garden”) betű → (a) betűje (“his/her/its letter”) vese → (a) veséje (“his/her/its kidney”)
- (with a singular possessor) …-'s, of … (third-person singular, single possession)
- Anna háza (“Anna’s house”), a felkelő nap háza (“the house of the rising sun”) Anna élete (“Anna’s life”), a város élete (“the life of the city”) a király palotája (“the king’s palace”) a ház kapuja (“the gate of the house”) Anna kertje (“Anna’s garden”), a tulipán kertje (“the garden of the tulip”)
- (with a plural possessor) …-s’, of …-s (third-person plural, single possession)
- a szüleim háza (“my parents’ house”), a trópusi növények háza (“[the] house of [the] tropical plants”, literally “the tropical plants’ house”) a szüleim élete (“my parents’ lives”, literally “my parents’ life”), a könyvek élete (“[the] lives of [the] books”, literally “the books’ life”) az uralkodók palotája (“the rulers’ palace”) a szüleim kertje (“my parents’ garden”), Az elágazó ösvények kertje (“The Garden of Forking Paths”)
- (with instantaneous time expressions) … ago (referring to a preceding point in time considered as an instant)
- (with durative time expressions) for … (referring to some duration that precedes the point of time in question)
- Egy évszázada / két éve / egy órája / sok/hosszú ideje várunk rád. ― We have been waiting for you for a century / two years / an hour / a long time.
- Synonym: óta (less common in this sense; more commonly means “since”)
- (mostly with quantities, often following -ik) of …, out of … (partitive sense)
- Synonym: (only with countable quantities) közül
- jó (jav-) (“the greater/better part”) → a java még hátravan (“the best/bulk is yet to come”, literally “its best/bulk is…”)
- legnagyobbik (“the biggest one”) → a bikák legnagyobbika (“the biggest [one] of the bulls”, synonymous with a legnagyobb bika)
- (with no possessor or with the 3rd‑person pronoun as possessor, usually construed with the definite article) his, her, its …
- (personal suffix) [from the end of the 12th century]
- Third-person singular personal suffix in back-vowel verbs. Today it can be found in the third-person singular definite forms (indicative past and imperative conjugations) as part of the suffix -ja/-je, -ta/-te.
- Third-person singular personal suffix in back-vowel conjugated infinitives and in the declined and postposition forms of the third-person personal pronoun ő (“he/she/it”).
- tanulni (“to study”) → tanulnia kell (“he/she must study”, literally “it is necessary for him/her to study”)
- kérni (“to request, ask for”) → kérnie kell (“he/she must request [it]”, literally “it is necessary for him/her to request”)
- -ról (“about”) → róla (“about him/her/it”)
- -től (“from”) → tőle (“from him/her/it”)
- után (“after”) → utána (“after him/her/it”)
- fölött (“above”) → fölötte (“above him/her/it”)
Usage notes
- (possessive suffix) Variants:
- -a is added to back-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -e is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -ja is added to back-vowel words ending in a consonant or a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-; final -o changes to -ó-.
- -je is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant or a vowel. Final -e changes to -é-; final -ö changes to -ő-.
- This suffix (in all forms) is normally used for the third-person singular possessive (single possession) but, after an explicit plural possessor, it also expresses the third-person plural possessive (single possession), e.g. “the children’s ball” (a gyerekek labdája). If the possessor is implicit (not named, only marked by a suffix), the plural possessive suffix must be used, e.g. “their ball” (a labdájuk, see -juk and its variants).
- (personal suffix) Variants:
- Note that the corresponding (third-person singular) indicative mood of front-vowel verbs is -i, e.g. kéri (“s/he requests it”).
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | -a | — |
accusative | -át | — |
dative | -ának | — |
instrumental | -ával | — |
causal-final | -áért | — |
translative | -ává | — |
terminative | -áig | — |
essive-formal | -aként | — |
essive-modal | -ául | — |
inessive | -ában | — |
superessive | -án | — |
adessive | -ánál | — |
illative | -ába | — |
sublative | -ára | — |
allative | -ához | — |
elative | -ából | — |
delative | -áról | — |
ablative | -ától | — |
non-attributive possessive – singular |
-áé | — |
non-attributive possessive – plural |
-áéi | — |
See also
- Category:Hungarian noun forms
- Appendix:Hungarian possessive suffixes
Etymology 2
First attested in 1055. It can be traced back to Proto-Uralic *-i̮ which with the word-final vowel created the diphthong -ai̮/-ei̮. This had simplified to -á/-é, finally in the Old Hungarian era it had shortened to -a/-e. It was a productive suffix at that time, the back-vowel variant was used even in front-vowel words such as the Old Hungarian female given names Fehéra and Szépa, derived from fehér (“light in color”) and szép (“beautiful”), respectively.[1]
Suffix
-a
- (diminutive suffix) The back-vowel variant of the -a/-e diminutive suffix pair. In the past it could be found in common nouns, as well, but today it is used mostly in given names.
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Suffix
-a
- (personal suffix, archaic) Used to form the third-person singular indicative past indefinite, for back-vowel verbs. The front-vowel version is -e. The suffix currently used in this place is -t, -tt, or -ott. For the full paradigm, see the usage template.
Etymology 4
Along with its front-vowel counterpart -e, from the diphthongs -ai̮/-ei̮, developing to -á/-é, then shortened to this form by the end of the early Old Hungarian period. After the participle suffix became fixed as -ó/-ő, the remaining words suffixed with -a/-e underwent conversion; some became adjectives, others, nouns.[1]
Suffix
-a
- (obsolete participle suffix) synonym of -ó (present-participle suffix) From a synchronic perspective, it can be viewed as a nominal-forming suffix, preserved in some adjectives and nouns (see below). No longer productive. Its front-vowel version is -e.
Derived terms
- borissza, bornemissza
- bringa (debated)
- cafka
- (csala)finta (dubious)
- csába
- csóka
- csusza
- duda
- furcsa
- guba (“type of dough”) (debated)
- guba (“garment made of wool”) (debated)
- gyagya
- handa(banda)
- (hepe)hupá(s)
- hinta
- hulla
- huzavona
- illa (berek)
- inga
- kajla
- kába
- koca
- kóka (debated)
- kósza
- kuka (“dumb”)
- kusza
- kutya (debated)
- léha
- morzsa (debated)
- pala
- peca (→ pecázik)
- pilla
- pofa (debated)
- pongyola (debated)
- potya
- puha
- ronda (dubious)
- rozoga
- ruca (debated)
- satra(fa)
- sima
- (zene)bona
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 -a in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
Icelandic
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a
- forms verbs from nouns
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Suffix
-a
See also
- -ari
- -ingi
Ido
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
Suffix
-a
Usage notes
One may elide the final a of the adjectives, but with the condition not to produce accumulation from the consonants. One advise to use the elision mainly with the derivatived adjectives and particularly when they finish with -al-(a).[1]
Derived terms
References
- ^ “KGD”, in Kompleta gramatiko detaloza[1] (in Ido), 23 December 2015 (last accessed), archived from the original on 27 January 2012
Ingrian
Etymology 1
From Proto-Finnic *-da. Cognates include Finnish -a and Estonian -a.
Pronunciation
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]
Suffix
-a (front vowel variant -ä)
- Used to form the partitive case: part of
Inflection
Possessive forms of -a | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | singular | plural |
1st person | -haan | -amme |
2nd person | -haas | -anne |
3rd person | -haa | -asse |
Etymology 2
From Proto-Finnic *-dak. Cognates include Finnish -da.
Pronunciation
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]
Suffix
-a (front vowel variant -ä)
- First infinitive marker
Usage notes
- After stems ending in -n, -l, -r, -s the alternative forms -na, -la, -ra and -sa are used, respectively.
Irish
Suffix
-a
- plural ending of certain nouns
- plural ending of adjectives in the nominative, vocative, dative, and strong genitive cases
- genitive singular ending of third-declension nouns
Italian
Etymology 1
Inherited from Latin -a, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ (forms action nouns).
Suffix
-a f (noun-forming suffix, plural -e)
- used with a stem to form a feminine singular noun, usually a deverbal
- Synonym: -o
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- used, with a stem, to form the third-person singular present tense of -are verbs
Etymology 3
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- used, with a stem, to form the second-person singular imperative of -are verbs
Etymology 4
From Latin -(e/i)am, -(e/i)ās, -(e/i)at.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- used, with a stem, to form the first-person singular, second-person singular and third-person singular present subjunctive of -ere verbs, and of those -ire verbs that do not insert -isc-
Etymology 5
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- used, with a stem, to form the third-person singular imperative of -ere verbs, and of those -ire verbs that do not insert -isc-
Japanese
Romanization
-a
Javanese
Javanese writing system | |
---|---|
Carakan | -ꦲ |
Pegon | -أَ |
Roman | -a |
Suffix
-a
- Imperative suffix
- Réné-a ― Come here!
- Kowé ana-a ing omah bae ― You stay home!
- Subjunctive suffix
- bisa-a énggal dadi ― I hope it will be ready soon.
- Bêcike ditutupi bisa-a aja nganti dirubung lalêr
- It should be covered so flies can't get into it.
- Mangsa bisa-a ― As if you could do it!
- (With doubled adjective) far more so
- Gêdhe-gêdhe-a iki ― This one is much bigger.
- (With doubled word) not even
- Aku ora entuk layang siji-siji-a ― I didn't get a single letter.
- (with doubled question word) [what]ever
- Sapa-sapa-a sing arêp mlêbu kudu wisuh dhisik
- Anyone who wants to come in has to wash his hands first.
- Piye-piye-a kae kowe kudu lunga ― No matter what, you have to go.
References
- "-a" in Elinor Clark Horne, Javanese-English Dictionary. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1974
Khalaj
Suffix
preceding vowel | |
---|---|
a / i / o / u | e / ə / i̇ / ö / ü |
-a | -ə |
-a
- Form of -ə after the vowels A / I / O / U.
Latin
Etymology 1
From Proto-Italic *-ā, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ (suffix originally used to form collective nouns, extended in Late PIE to also be a marker of feminine gender). For the use to form masculine agent nouns from verb roots, compare Latin poeta from Ancient Greek ποιητής (poiētḗs).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [a]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [a]
Suffix
-a
- inflection of -us:
- nominative/vocative feminine singular
- nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural
- nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural of -s
Suffix
-a f or m (genitive -ae); first declension
- suffix used to form feminine first-declension nouns
- used to form a female counterpart of a masculine noun denoting a male
- used in substantivised feminine adjective forms, with ellipsis of an implicit feminine head noun
- medicus (“doctor”) + -īnus (adjective-forming suffix) + -a → medicīna f (“medicine”), a type of ars f (“art”)
- cōnferveō + -us (adjective-forming suffix) + -a → cōnferva f, a type of herba f (“plant”)
- cōnsolidō + -us (adjective-forming suffix) + -a → cōnsolida f, a type of herba f (“plant”)
- (Late Latin) added to the stem of a third-declension noun to adapt its inflection to that of a feminine first-declension noun
- lendis, lendin- f + -a → lendina f
- pūlex, pūlic- m + -a → *pūlica f
- suffix used to form (usually masculine) agent nouns from the roots of (usually compound) verbs
Declension
First-declension noun.
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | -a | -ae |
genitive | -ae | -ārum |
dative | -ae | -īs |
accusative | -am | -ās |
ablative | -ā | -īs |
vocative | -a | -ae |
1. Certain masculine nouns ending in -a, especially those ending in -cola and -gena, sometimes have a short genitive plural form ending in -um instead of -ārum.
2. Feminine nouns such as fīlia (“daughter”) that have a second-declension masculine counterpart sometimes take the ending -ābus instead of -īs in the dative and ablative plural to avoid ambiguity (since fīliīs could be misunderstood as the dative/ablative plural of fīlius (“son”)). Forms in -ābus are attested earliest for the nouns fīlia and dea (“goddess”), and later on for others such as līberta (“freedwoman”), equa (“mare”) and anima.
Synonyms
- (suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms masculine agent nouns): -ō¹
Derived terms
References
- “-a¹” on page 1/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
Etymology 2
From Old Latin -ād, first-declension ablative singular ending.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [aː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [a]
Suffix
-ā
- ablative feminine singular of -us
Suffix
-ā (not comparable)
- suffixed chiefly to the stems of adjectives terminating in -ter, forms adverbs which are frequently also used as prepositions
Derived terms
References
- “-ā²” on page 1/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [aː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [a]
Suffix
-ā
- second-person singular present active imperative of -ō (first conjugation)
Latvian
Suffix
-a
Derived terms
Related terms
Lushootseed
Suffix
-a
Derived terms
- čxʷa
- čəda
- čələpa
- čɬa
Makasar
Article
-a (Lontara spelling ᨕ)
References
- ^ Aburaerah Arief (1995) Kamus Makassar–Indonesia, Ujung Pandang: Yayaan Perguruan Islam Kapita, page 29.
Maltese
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Arabic ـَة (-a), reinforced by Sicilian and Italian -a, which are unrelated but used similarly.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
- Homophone: -ha (distinct after -h, -ħ, -għ; may also trigger different stem alternations)
Suffix
-a
- Used to form the feminine forms of most nouns and adjectives.
- Used to form the plurals of some nouns and adjectives.
- Used to form singulatives from collective nouns.
Maori
Suffix
-a
- passive ending (used mainly for verbs with one or two vowels)
Derived terms
Mbyá Guaraní
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a
- nominalizes the action of the verb
- pendeayvua
- that which you say
- indicates the place of the verb
- ooa
- where he is going
- indicates the time of the action of the verb
Etymology 2
Suffix
-a
- forms ordinal numbers
- mboapya
- third
Murui Huitoto
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [a]
Suffix
-a
Derived terms
References
- Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.[5], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 81
Northern Sami
Etymology
From Proto-Samic *-ëk. Cognate with Finnish -e.
Pronunciation
- (Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈ-a/
Suffix
-a (with odd-syllable stems -at)
- Forms nouns from verbs, indicating something used for performing the verb.
- Forms nouns from verbs, indicating something that results from having the verb's action performed.
Usage notes
- This suffix triggers the weak grade on a preceding stressed syllable in the nominative singular and essive, and the strong grade in the other forms.
Inflection
Odd, no gradation | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | -at | |||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | -aga | |||||||||||||||||||||
Singular | Plural | |||||||||||||||||||||
Nominative | -at | -agat | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accusative | -aga | -agiid | ||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | -aga | -agiid | ||||||||||||||||||||
Illative | -agii | -agiidda | ||||||||||||||||||||
Locative | -agis | -agiin | ||||||||||||||||||||
Comitative | -agiin | -agiiguin | ||||||||||||||||||||
Essive | -agin | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Suffix
-a
- the, Definite marker used for
- Synonym: (only for strong nouns; nonstandard since 2012) -i
- the definite singular of (strong) feminine nouns.
- the definite plural of strong neuter nouns.
- (dialectal) the dative singular case of strong masculine nouns.
- (archaic, nonstandard) Used to form definite singular dative case of weak masculine and neuter nouns
- -ed, Used for:
- Used to form an infinitive form for most verbs. When using split infinitive, this only applies to a select group.
- Used to form singular indefinite feminine form of some pronouns and adjectives (e.g. inga, lita, noka etc.).
- Synonym: -i (non-standard since 2012)
- plural of -um
- plural of -on
- Used as an ending of weak nouns and adjectives. Used for:
- the singular of weak feminine nouns, indefinite (non-standard since 2012) and definite forms.
- the singular of weak neuter nouns, indefinite and definite forms (e.g. auga, hjarta, øyra).
- (dated or dialectal) adverbs ((pre-2012) alternative form of -e).
- (pre-1901 (Landsmål), archaic or dialectal) the singular definite feminine and neuter forms of adjectives.
- (pre-1901 (Landsmål), archaic, nonstandard) Used to form the feminine indefinite plural of adjectives.
- (pre-1901 (Landsmål), archaic, nonstandard) Used to form the genitive plural of nouns.
Anagrams
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ/
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *-ō, from Proto-Germanic *-ô. Cognate with Old High German -o.
Suffix
-a
- nominative masculine n-stem ending
- used to form the nominative singular n-stem (weak) adjective and subsequent nominalised form
- eald (“old”) + -a → (sē) ealda (“(the/that) old; (the/that) old one/thing”)
- used to form masculine agents, usually from verbs
Declension
Weak:
Derived terms
Descendants
- Middle English: -e
Etymology 2
From Proto-West Germanic *-ō, from Proto-Germanic *-ô.
Suffix
-a
- Ending forming adverbs
Usage notes
- Though it was common in Proto-Germanic and Proto-West Germanic, in Old English this ending is restricted to only a few adverbs, among them sōna (“immediately”) and ġeāra (“long ago”). The competing suffix -e is much more common, along with -līċe.
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 3
Suffix
-a
- Forms the nominative, accusative, and genitive plural of o-stem feminine nouns and u-stem masculine nouns
Etymology 4
Suffix
-a
Etymology 5
Suffix
-a
Old Galician-Portuguese
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a f (plural -as)
- feminine singular of -o
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
Inherited from Latin -at, from Proto-Italic *-āt, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti.
Suffix
-a
- a suffix indicating the second-person singular present indicative of a verb in -ar
Descendants
Old Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [a]
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronoun
-a
- combines with prepositions to form a relative pronoun
Derived terms
Etymology 2
An allomorph of -iu. It derives from Proto-Celtic *-is, the neuter of *-yūs. -is was extended to -ais thanks to a rebracketing of Proto-Celtic *mais (“more”) from *ma-is to *m-ais (neuter of *māyūs from which Old Irish mó).[1]
Suffix
-a
- forms the comparative degree of some adjectives
Usage notes
Used with a relatively small number of adjectives to form an irregular comparative. The regular, productive comparative suffix is -iu.
Derived terms
References
Further reading
- Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) [1909] D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, translation of Handbuch des Alt-Irischen (in German), →ISBN, §§ 372-73, pages 235; reprinted 2017
Old Norse
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Alternative forms
Suffix
-a
- indicates negation; does not (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *-ōną.
Suffix
-a
- creates denominative verbs from nouns
- creates factitive verbs from adjectives
Conjugation
infinitive | -a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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present participle | -andi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
past participle | -aðr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
present | past | present | past | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st person singular | -a | -aða | -a | -aða | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd person singular | -ar | -aðir | -ir | -aðir | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd person singular | -ar | -aði | -i | -aði | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st person plural | -um | -uðum | -im | -aðim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd person plural | -ið | -uðuð | -ið | -aðið | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd person plural | -a | -uðu | -i | -aði | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
imperative | present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd person singular | -a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st person plural | -um | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd person plural | -ið |
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 3
From Proto-Germanic *-ê and *-ô.
Suffix
-a
Descendants
- Icelandic: -a
Etymology 4
From Proto-Germanic *-ǭ or *-ô.
Suffix
-a f or n
- occurs in the nominative singular of feminine on-stem nouns
- occurs in the singular of neuter an-stem nouns
Declension
feminine | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | -a | -an | -ur | -urnar |
accusative | -u | -una | -ur | -urnar |
dative | -u | -unni | -um | -unum |
genitive | -u | -unnar | -na | -nanna |
neuter | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | -a | -at | -u | -un |
accusative | -a | -at | -u | -un |
dative | -a | -anu | -um | -unum |
genitive | -a | -ans | -na | -nanna |
Etymology 5
Different noun forms.
Suffix
-a
- indefinite genitive plural (of nouns)
- inflection of -i (masculine an-stem nouns):
- indefinite oblique singular
- indefinite accusative plural
- indefinite accusative plural of -r (masculine a-stem nouns)
Old Swedish
Etymology
Suffix
-a
- Creates denominative verbs from nouns
- Creates factitive verbs from adjectives
- sighia
- to say
- hælgha
- to celebrate
Conjugation
present | past | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | -a | — | ||||
participle | -andi, -e | -aþer | ||||
active voice | indicative | subjunctive | imperative | indicative | subjunctive | |
iæk | -ar | -i, -e | — | -aþi, -e | -aþi, -e | |
þū | -ar | -i, -e | -a | -aþi, -e | -aþi, -e | |
han | -ar | -i, -e | — | -aþi, -e | -aþi, -e | |
vīr | -um, -om | -um, -om | -um, -om | -aþum, -om | -aþum, -om | |
īr | -in | -in | -in | -aþin | -aþin | |
þēr | -a | -in | — | -aþu, -o | -aþin | |
mediopassive voice | indicative | subjunctive | imperative | indicative | subjunctive | |
iæk | -as | -is, -es | — | -aþis, -es | -aþis, -es | |
þū | -as | -is, -es | — | -aþis, -es | -aþis, -es | |
han | -as | -is, -es | — | -aþis, -es | -aþis, -es | |
vīr | -ums, -oms | -ums, -oms | — | -aþums, -oms | -aþums, -oms | |
īr | -ins | -ins | — | -aþins | -aþins | |
þēr | -as | -ins | — | -aþus, -os | -aþins |
Descendants
- Swedish: -a
Old Tupi
Etymology
Possibly from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *-aβ, making it a doublet of -sab.
Cognate with Guajajára, Kamayurá, Mbyá Guaraní, and Tapirapé -a.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (attonic) /a/
Suffix
-a
- forms nouns from a word's stem
- forms the gerund of verbs ending in a consonant
Derived terms
References
- Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “-a”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil [Dictionary of Old Tupi: The Classical Indigenous Language of Brazil] (overall work in Portuguese), São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 3, column 1
Phalura
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-a/
Suffix
-a
- Third person singular suffix
Alternative forms
- -íi (With e-ending verb stems)
- -óo (With a-ending verb stems)
- -e (Biori)
- -úu (With a-ending verb stems in Biori)
References
- Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “-a”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[6], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-a/
Suffix
-a
- Plural suffix (with a-declension nouns)
Alternative forms
References
- Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “-a”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[7], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-a/
Suffix
-a
- Oblique case suffix (with a-declension nouns)
Alternative forms
References
- Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “-a”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[8], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Etymology 4
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-a/
Suffix
-a
- Masculine plural agreement suffix
References
- Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “-a”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[9], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Etymology 5
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-a/
Suffix
-a
- Masculine non-nominative and non-singular agreement suffix
References
- Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “-a”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[10], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -a
- Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]
- Homophones: a, a-
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-a.
Suffix
-a f
- forms nominative feminine nouns
- forms feminine names from masculine names
- (obsolete) forms feminine nominative and vocative forms of short forms of adjectives
Declension
Suffix
-a m pers (feminine -yni)
- forms masculine personal agent nouns
Declension
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Polish -á, from Proto-Slavic *-aja.
Suffix
-a f
- forms feminine nominative and vocative forms of adjectives
- główny + -a → główna
Etymology 3
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-ьja. Doublet of -ia.
Suffix
-a f (neuter -e)
- forms collective nouns, causes palatalization
Suffix
-a
Etymology 4
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-a, from Proto-Indo-European *-éad, the thematic ablative suffix.
Suffix
-a
- used to create the masculine genitive singular, usually of animate nouns, but also of some inanimate nouns
- forms genitive singular of neuter nouns
- used in some adverbial constructions
Etymology 5
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-a.
Suffix
-a
Derived terms
Further reading
- -a in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ɐ/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ɐ/
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -a, from Latin -am, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂, from *-h₂.
Suffix
-a f (plural -as)
- feminine singular of -o
Suffix
-a f (noun-forming suffix, plural -as)
- forms feminine nouns from adjectives, indicating people having the quality of the source adjective
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -a, from Latin -at.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- a suffix indicating the third-person singular present indicative of a verb in -ar
See also
Etymology 3
From Old Galician-Portuguese -a, from Latin -ā.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- forms the second-person singular affirmative imperative of verbs ending in -ar
- João, conta-nos o teu apelido. ― John, tell us your last name.
Etymology 4
From Old Galician-Portuguese -a, from Latin -am, -eam.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- forms the first-person singular present subjunctive of verbs ending in -er and -ir
- É importante que eu coma carne. ― It is important that I eat meat.
Etymology 5
From Old Galician-Portuguese -a, from Latin -at, -eat.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- forms the third-person singular present subjunctive of verbs ending in -er and -ir
- É importante que ele coma carne. ― It is important that he eat meat.
- forms the third-person singular affirmative imperative of verbs ending in -er and -ir
- Ei você aí, coma carne. ― Hey you there, eat meat.
- forms the third-person singular negative imperative of verbs ending in -er and -ir
- Ei você aí, não coma carne. ― Hey you there, don’t eat meat.
Usage notes
- The third-person imperative is not used with third person pronouns but rather with você, which is a second-person pronoun but always takes third-person conjugation.
Etymology 6
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Suffix
-a m or f (noun-forming suffix, plural -as)
- (Brazil, slang) used in the end of shortenings
- vestibular + -a → vestiba (“university admittance test”)
- vagabundo + -a → vagaba (“loafer”)
Romani
Suffix
-a
- Forms the nominative plural of consonantal oikoclitic nouns
- Forms the accusative singular of unjotated oikoclitic animate feminine nouns
- Forms the feminine singular oblique of consonantal oikoclitic nouns. Displaced by -e in most dialects
- phuro (“old (animate)”) + -a → phura
Derived terms
References
- Yaron Matras, Anton Tenser, editors (August 2020), The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, pages 30, 166
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
Etymology 1
Inherited from Latin illa, nominative feminine singular of ille.
Alternative forms
- -ua — used for feminine nouns ending in a stressed vowel or diphthong
Suffix
-a f
- (definite article) the (feminine singular, nominative and accusative)
Usage notes
This form of the definite article is used for feminine nouns in the nominative and accusative cases which end in -ă or in an unstressed vowel:
The suffix is also used with feminine adjectives in the nominative and accusative cases to make the articulated definite form, often for emphasis, and it is used before the noun it modifies:
- fata bună + -a → buna fată (both meaning "the good girl")
- câmpia întinsă + -a → întinsa câmpie (both meaning "the wide/extensive plain")
Related terms
Etymology 2
Inherited from Latin -āre, the ending of the present active infinitive form of first conjugation verbs. Cognate with Spanish -ar, French -er, Italian -are, etc.
Suffix
-a
- A suffix forming infinitives of many verbs.
Conjugation
infinitive | a -a | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gerund | -ând | ||||||
past participle | -at | ||||||
number | singular | plural | |||||
person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |
indicative | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele | |
present | - | -i | -ă | -ăm | -ați | -ă | |
imperfect | -am | -ai | -a | -am | -ați | -au | |
simple perfect | -ai | -ași | -ă | -arăm | -arăți | -ară | |
pluperfect | -asem | -aseși | -ase | -aserăm | -aserăți | -aseră | |
subjunctive | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele | |
present | să - | să -i | să -e | să -ăm | să -ați | să -e | |
imperative | — | tu | — | — | voi | — | |
affirmative | -ă | -ați | |||||
negative | nu -a | nu -ați |
Related terms
See also
Derived terms
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a f (Cyrillic spelling -а, noun-forming suffix)
- suffix appended to words (usually verbal stems) to create a feminine noun, usually denoting a relation or to form a proper noun
Etymology 2
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-a, from Proto-Indo-European *-ōd, the thematic ablative ending.
Suffix
-a (Cyrillic spelling -а)
- forms the genitive singular of masculine and neuter nouns and indefinite adjectives
Slovak
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-ę.
Suffix
-a n
- forms nouns for young animals and other diminutives
Usage notes
- After labio-dental and bilabial consonants -ä is used instead.
Declension
Spanish
Etymology 1
Suffix
-a f (noun-forming suffix, plural -as)
Suffix
-a f (non-lemma form of adjective-forming suffix)
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Inherited from Latin -at, the third-person singular present active indicative ending of first conjugation verbs.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
Etymology 3
Inherited from Latin -eam, Latin -am, and Latin -iam the first-person singular present active subjunctive endings of second, third, and fourth conjugation verbs, respectively; and from Latin -eat, Latin -at, and Latin -iat, the third-person singular present active subjunctive ending of second, third, and fourth conjugation verbs, respectively.
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- forms the first- and third-person singular (also used with usted) singular present subjunctive mood of '-er and -ir verbs, also used for the imperative mood of usted
Etymology 4
Inherited from Latin -ā (second-person singular present active imperative ending of first conjugation verbs).
Suffix
-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- forms the second-person singular imperative mood of -ar verbs
Swahili
Suffix
-a
- positive indicative ending for verbs of Bantu origin
Usage notes
Several tenses (such as the ones which historically derive from auxiliary + main verb) keep their ending -a even in the negative.
See also
- Initial
- Final
- Infix position positive subject concord
- Positive past: -li-
- Positive present: -na-
- Positive future: -ta-
- Negative subjunctive: -si-1
- Positive present conditional: -nge-
- Negative present conditional: -singe-
- Positive past conditional: -ngali-
- Negative past conditional: -singali-
- Gnomic: -a-1
- Perfect: -me-
- "Already" past: -lisha-
- "Already" present: -mesha-/-sha-
- "If/When": -ki-1
- "If not": -sipo-
- Consecutive: -ka-1
- Infix position negative subject concord
- Relative
1 Can take stress and therefore does not require -ku-/-kw- in monosyllabic verbs.
Swedish
Etymology 1
From Old Swedish -a, from Old Norse -a, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną.
Suffix
-a
- A verb-building suffix that can be added to nouns or adjectives.
Conjugation
- For weak verbs with a voiceless ending stem:
active | passive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | - | -s | ||
supine | -t | -ts | ||
imperative | - | — | ||
imper. plural1 | -en | — | ||
present | past | present | past | |
indicative | -er | -te | -s, -es | -tes |
ind. plural1 | - | -te | -s | -tes |
subjunctive2 | -e | -te | -es | -tes |
present participle | -nde | |||
past participle | -t |
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
- For weak verbs with a voiced ending stem:
active | passive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | - | -s | ||
supine | -t | -ts | ||
imperative | - | — | ||
imper. plural1 | -en | — | ||
present | past | present | past | |
indicative | -er | -de | -s, -es | -des |
ind. plural1 | - | -de | -s | -des |
subjunctive2 | -e | -de | -es | -des |
present participle | -nde | |||
past participle | -d |
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
The language noun sense originally comes from the definite adjective + tunga (“tongue; language”). Thus svenska (“Swedish”) was originally svenska tungan (the Swedish tongue)
Suffix
-a
- (on a positive adjective) Weak (definite) singular suffix, historically feminine
- Transform an adjective describing a people speaking a language into the noun for that language.
Usage notes
- On adjectives: Traditionally, if the noun is in the definite singular form it should not refer to a male human if it uses the suffix -a. If it refers to such a person, the suffix should instead be -e, but one should note that this rule is not universally adhered to – in particular dialects of northern Sweden do not recognize the -e suffix at all, but use -a in all instances.
Etymology 3
Suffix
-a
- Definite plural suffix for neuter nouns of the fourth declension with regular plurals in -n, e.g. äpplen (“apples”) + -a → äpplena (“the apples”); see also -na.
Usage notes
- In informal/dialectal usage, -a may be used instead of -en to form the definite plural of the irregular fourth-declension nouns öron (“ears”), ögon (“eyes”).
Etymology 4
Suffix
-a
- Create a noun from a numeral.
Tokelauan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [-a]
Etymology 1
From Proto-Polynesian *-a. Cognates include Tuvaluan -a and Samoan -a.
Suffix
-a
- Creates a verb denoting an abundancy of the suffixed noun; -ful
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Suffix
-a
- Added to transitive verbs when preceded by the subject pronoun.
References
- R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary[11], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 1
Turkish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ/
Etymology 1
From Proto-Turkic *-ka (“dative case”).
Suffix
-a (in words with back vowel harmony)
- Used to form the dative case
Etymology 2
From Proto-Turkic *-ü (“gerundive suffix”).
Suffix
-a (in words with back vowel harmony)
Etymology 3
From Proto-Turkic *-gey (“optative-predictive future case”).
Suffix
-a (in words with back vowel harmony)
References
- Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “-a¹, -a², -a³”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 73
Volapük
Suffix
-a
- A morpheme used to mark the genitive singular of a word (such as a noun, adjective or pronoun). It is also the most common morpheme used in creating innumerable compound words, some of which can be very long
- pledadinaselidöp ― toy store, toy shop
- tanoganilamedin ― antibiotic
- taglumaladälamedin ― anti-depressant
- natrinakarbatazüd telik ― bicarbonate of soda
- Elaf Tyrannosaurus rex älifon in taledadil, kel nu binon dil Nolüda-Meropa.
- Tyrannosaurus rex lived in an area of the earth, which is now a part of North America.
- Buks binons stumem lärnazilana (/ lärnazilanastumem / stumem lärnazilanik).
- Books are a scholar's tools.
Walloon
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
Suffix
-a
- Forming masculine nouns from verbs and nouns, having the sense of 'tool, object for a specific purpose'.
Derived terms
Welsh
Alternative forms
- -af (superlative; colloquial first-person singular future)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a/
Etymology 1
From -ha.
Suffix
-a
- Forms verbnouns from verb stems. Usually denotes an action that is often repeated, e.g. frequenting a certain place or gathering a certain item.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From -ha.
Suffix
-a
- (literary) verb suffix for the third-person singular present indicative/future
Etymology 3
From -ha.
Suffix
-a
- (literary) verb suffix for the second-person singular present imperative
- (colloquial) verb suffix for the second-person singular present imperative
Etymology 4
From -af.
Suffix
-a
- (colloquial) used to form the superlative of an adjective of one or two syllables.
Usage notes
Like the more formal -af, this triggers causes final b, d and g to mutate to p, t and c, respectively. For example, the superlative of teg (“fair”) is teca.
Etymology 5
From -af.
Suffix
-a
- (colloquial) verb suffix for the first-person singular future
Ye'kwana
ALIV | -a |
---|---|
Brazilian standard | -a |
New Tribes | -a |
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [-a]
Suffix
-a
- Forms the nonpast tense.
- Marks imperfective aspect in both the recent and distant past tenses.
Usage notes
This suffix can cause syllable reduction. The suffix takes the form -ka when the preceding syllable is reducible and has an onset of k, -ya when the preceding syllable ends in i, and -a in other contexts.
When marking the past imperfective, this suffix never occurs alone but is always accompanied by other suffixes bearing tense/aspect or at least number information. Conversely, when marking the nonpast tense, it occurs alone without other tense/aspect markers, though it can form a plural -aato.
Derived terms
References
- Cáceres, Natalia (2011) Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana[12], Lyon, pages 213–224