-a

Etymology 1Edit

From the homographic case endings of the nominative, accusative, and vocative forms of numerous Latin neuter second declension nouns.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɑ/, /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑ/, /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. plural form of -um
2. plural form of -on

Usage notesEdit

• Because the regular pluralization in English involves adding -s or -es, English words derived from a Latin where the Latin would pluralize from -on or -um to -a do not always do so in English. 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)

Derived termsEdit

See alsoEdit

TranslationsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

Possibly due to the propensity in some non-rhotic dialects to pronounce words ending in -er as if they ended in an -a.

PronunciationEdit

• (General American) IPA^(key): /æ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /æ/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. (Geordie) Same as -er in Standard English.

   me fatha was a corka burna doon the shipyard — “My father was a corker burner at the shipyard.”

2. (slang) Used to replace -er in nouns.

   gangsta — “gangster”

   brotha — “brother”

See alsoEdit

• -z

Etymology 3Edit

Representing the nominative singular case ending of Latin first-declension feminine nouns.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ə, IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a (plural -ae or -æ)

1. Marks singular nouns, with a foundation in Greek or Latin, often implying femininity, especially when contrasted with words terminating in -us.

SynonymsEdit

• -ess
• -ette
• -euse
• -or
• -rix
• she-

Derived termsEdit

• incuba

Etymology 4Edit

From Latin -a.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Changes an element or substance into an oxide.

   magnesia

Etymology 5Edit

Shortened version of verb have.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. (slang) Alternative form of -'ve.

Etymology 6Edit

Representing Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish feminine nouns.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Marks nouns, with a foundation in Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese, implying femininity.

Etymology 7Edit

Added to lines of poetry and verse to maintain metrics.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Added for metrical reasons to poetry and verse

Etymology 8Edit

Shortened version of preposition of.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. (slang) clitic form of o'

Etymology 9Edit

Shortened version of verb to.

PronunciationEdit

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. (informal) To.

   oughta

ReferencesEdit

• Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 1

• Christine A. Lindberg (editor), The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition (Spark Publishing, 2007 [2002], ISBN 978-1-4114-0500-4), page 1

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Plural form of -um

SynonymsEdit

• -ums

EtymologyEdit

From feminine singular adjectives (and nouns) of the Romance languages, such as French ma, Italian mia, Spanish mía, fría.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Related to, in the manner of, of. (Ending for all adjectives in Esperanto.)

   belo; bela — “beauty; beautiful”

   dekstro; dekstra — “the right direction (as opposed to left); to the right”

   vero; vera — “truth; true”

2. Belonging to, of. (Ending for all possessive pronouns in Esperanto.)

   mia — “of me, my”

   via — “of you, your”

   ilia — “of them, their”

3. -kind of. (Ending of all correlatives of kind in Esperanto.)

   kia — “what kind of”

   tia — “that kind of”

   nenia — “no kind of”

Derived termsEdit

Alternative formsEdit

• (in words with front vowel harmony) -ä

Etymology 1Edit

From Proto-Finnic *-da, from the Proto-Uralic ablative case *-ta. A variant form *-ta (whence Finnish -ta) was used after a syllable with (secondary) stress (suffixal gradation).

SuffixEdit

-a (front vowel harmony variant -ä)

1. (case suffix) Forms the partitive case of nouns, adjectives, numbers and some pronouns.

Usage notesEdit

• This suffix is used after a short vowel or the plural marker -j-.

Etymology 2Edit

From Proto-Finnic *-dak. Historically, a form of a lative suffix.

SuffixEdit

-a (front vowel harmony variant -ä)

1. (verbal suffix, case suffix) Forms the short form of the first infinitive of verbs.

Usage notesEdit

• The first infinitive, short form, is the citation form of verbs.

See alsoEdit

• -ta
• -tta

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Suffix indicating the third-person singular past historic of -er verbs.

PronunciationEdit

• IPA^(key): /ɒ/

SuffixEdit

-a

1. his, her, its (third-person singular possessive suffix denoting singular possession)

   ház (“house”) → a háza (“his/her/its house”)

Usage notesEdit

• (possessive suffix): Member of the following suffix cluster:

  -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-.

  -je is added to front vowel words ending in a consonant or a vowel. Final -e changes to -é-.

See alsoEdit

• Category:Hungarian noun forms - possessive
• Appendix:Hungarian possessive suffixes

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Used to form verbs from nouns.

   spark → sparka — a kick → to kick

   mjólk → mjólka — milk → to milk

   von → vona — hope → to hope

   ávarp → ávarpa — an address → to address

   rit → rita — a writ → to write

   rass → rassa — an ass → to spank (on the ass)

2. Used to form adverbs from adjectives.

   illur → illa — bad → badly

Derived termsEdit

See alsoEdit

• -ingi
• -ari

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Ending for all adjectives in Ido.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Used, with a stem, to form the third-person singular present tense of -are verbs.
2. Used, with a stem, to form the second-person singular imperative of -are verbs.
3. 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".
4. Used, with a stem, to form the third-person singular imperative of -ere verbs, and of those -ire verbs that do not insert "isc".

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Used to derive feminine nouns from masculine nouns (like English -ess).

SynonymsEdit

• -e

Related termsEdit

Femine suffixes that include -a:

• -iņa
• -iska

Derived termsEdit

Alternative formsEdit

• -o

Etymology 1Edit

From Proto-Germanic *-ō.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. Ending forming adverbs

   hwāra (“where”); ġilīco (“similarly”)

   singala (“continually, constantly”), from singal (“continuous”)

Etymology 2Edit

Cognate to Old High German -o.

SuffixEdit

-a m

1. nominative masculine n-stem ending

   nama "name"; scūa "shadow"

2. used to form masculine agents from verbs

   hunta (“hunter”)

   ǣta (“eater”)

DeclensionEdit

DescendantsEdit

• English -er

SuffixEdit

-a

1. indicates negation; does not

PronunciationEdit

• IPA^(key): /a/, IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Etymology 1Edit

From Old Portuguese -a, from Latin -a.

SuffixEdit

-a f (plural -as)

1. forms feminine nouns and adjectives

   Uruguai (“Uruguay”) + -a → uruguaia (“woman from Uruguay”)

Etymology 2Edit

From Old Portuguese -a, from Latin -at.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. forms the third-person singular present indicative of verbs ending in -ar

   João fala português.

   John speaks Portuguese.

Etymology 3Edit

From Old Portuguese -a, from Latin -ā.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. forms the second-person singular affirmative imperative of verbs ending in -ar

   João, conta-nos o seu apelido.

   John, tell us your last name.

Etymology 4Edit

SuffixEdit

-a

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. forms the third-person singular affirmative imperative of verbs ending in -er and -ir

   Ei você aí, coma carne.

   Hey you there, eat meat.

4. 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 notesEdit

The third-person imperative isn’t used with third person pronouns, it’s used with você, which is a second-person pronoun but always takes third-person conjugation.

Alternative formsEdit

• -ua (used for feminine nouns ending in a stressed vowel or diphthong)

Etymology 1Edit

From Latin illa, nominative feminine singular of ille.

SuffixEdit

-a f

1. (definite article) the (feminine singular, nominative and accusative)

Usage notesEdit

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:

• mama, from mamă, fem.
• națiunea, from națiune, fem.
• floarea, from floare, fem.

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:

• buna fată, from fata bună (both meaning "the good girl")
• întinsa câmpie, from câmpia întinsă (both meaning "the wide/extensive plain")

Related termsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Latin -āre, the ending of the present active infinitive form of first conjugation verbs. Cognate with Spanish -ar, French -er, Italian -are, etc.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. A suffix forming infinitives of many verbs.

Related termsEdit

• -e
• -ea
• -i
• -î

See alsoEdit

• -re

SuffixEdit

-a (Cyrillic spelling -а)

1. Suffix appended to words (usually verbal stems) to create a feminine noun, usually denoting a relation or to form a proper noun.

SuffixEdit

-a

1. -ess. (Used to form feminine singular nouns.)

   señor; señora — “gentleman; lady”

   camarero; camarera — “waitor; waitress”

2. (Used to form the feminine singular adjectives.)

   frío; fría — “cold; cold”

3. -s. (Used to form the third-person singular (also used with usted) present indicative mood of regular -ar verbs.)

   hablar; habla — “to talk; talks”

4. (Used to form the first and third-person singular (also used with usted) singular subjunctive mood of -er and -ir verbs, also used for the imperative mood of usted.)

   comer; aunque yo coma — “to eat; even if I ate”; salir; por favor, salga Ud. — “to leave; please leave (formal)”

5. (Used to form the second-person singular imperative mood of -ar verbs.)

   hablar; ¡Habla! — “to talk; Talk!”

Derived termsEdit

ParticleEdit

-a

1. The genitive particle; adjectival particle; of

Usage notesEdit

1. This particle agrees in class with the noun preceding it;
2. When used as an adjectival particle, the particle itself is untranslated:

• nguo za kufuliwa — laundry, washing (lit. "laundry clothing")
• mali ya pamoja — communal property

1. When used as a genitive particle, the particle is sometimes untranslated:

• Bahari ya Hindi — Indian Ocean

Derived termsEdit

SuffixEdit

-a

1. (on an positive adjective) Suffix to mark that the corresponding noun is either in plural or in definite singular form
2. Marker of definiteness for noun plurals ending in -n (fourth declension).

   läten; lätena; "sounds; the sounds"

3. Create a verb (in the infinitive) from a noun or adjective, e.g. disk (“dishes”) → diska (“do the dishes”); lås (“a lock”) → låsa (“to lock”); ren (“clean”) → rena (“to clean, to purify”)
4. Create a noun from a numeral, e.g. tre (“three”) → trea (“the digit three; a bronze medalist; a three-room apartment”)

Usage notesEdit

On adjectives 

Traditionally, if the noun is in 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 does not recognize the -e suffix at all, but use -a in all instances.

Derived termsEdit

Alternative formsEdit

• (after a vowel) -ya, -ye
• (after a possessive, dative only) -na, -ne
• (in words with front vowel harmony) -e

SuffixEdit

-a (in words with back vowel harmony)

1. Used to form the dative case.

   İstanbul’a — “to Istanbul”

   Ankara’ya — “to Ankara”

   İzmir’e — “to Izmir”

   babasına — “to his father”

2. Used to form gerunds.

   yürüye — “by walking”

SuffixEdit

-a

1. 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 (e.g., 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.