-a

From Latin -a.

-a

1. Used to create genus names from proper nouns
2. Used to take the form of certain plural Latin-derived taxonomic names

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

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophones: -er, -or (in non-rhotic accents)

-a

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

• 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.

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

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

-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.

• (feminine suffix): -ess, -ette, -ine, -ress, she-, -trix

• (antonym(s) of “feminine suffix”): he-

• incuba

From Latin -a.

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

-a

1. Changes an element or substance into an oxide.

   ‎magnesium + ‎-a → ‎magnesia

Shortened form of verb have.

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

-a

1. (slang) Alternative form of 've

   who'da thunk it?

   shoulda

   coulda

   woulda

Equivalent to Etymology 2, representing Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish feminine nouns.

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

-a

1. Marks nouns, with a foundation in Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese, implying femininity.

   donna

   signora

• (female suffix): -ess, -ette, -ine, -ress, she-, -trix

• (antonym(s) of “female suffix”): he-

Added especially for metrical reasons, or as an empty filler syllable. Also used to imitate an Italian accent.

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

-a

1. 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, “Wanna”, in Herb Owen (music), 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."

• a, a-

Shortened version of preposition of.

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

-a

1. (slang) Clitic form of o' (contraction of of).

   buncha, cuppa, kinda, loadsa, lotta, sorta

   • 1946, Elizabeth Metzger Howard, Before the Sun Goes Down, page 31:

     "Jesus Christ! Was my folks refined. My mam she wouldn't think-a lettin' us young'uns call a pee pot a pee pot. A chamber's what she called it... And by God! Us young'uns had ter call the pee pot a chamber or git our God damn necks wrang."

Shortened version of verb to.

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

-a

1. (informal) to (infinitive marker)

   oughta

   wanna

   gotta

   gonna

Shortened version of verb do.

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

-a

1. (informal) do (infinitive marker)

   what-a

   • 1988, Living Colour (lyrics and music), “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?)

• -er (which, in various non-rhotic dialects, reduces to -a, e.g. fatha, burna), compare -z

• 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.

Related to e (“of, the, to”) and -e.

-a f

1. feminine singular nominative suffixed definite article. the

   Coordinate terms: (masculine) -i, -u, (plural and neuter) -të

   ‎ditë f (“day”) + ‎-a → ‎dita (“the day”)

   ‎natë f (“night”) + ‎-a → ‎nata (“the night”)

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

-a

1. forms the plural forms for many nouns. -s

   ‎burrë m (“man”) + ‎-a → ‎burra (“men”)

   ‎vetull f (“eyebrow”) + ‎-a → ‎vetulla (“eyebrows”)

-a

1. Absolutive singular suffix.

   Liburua ekarri al duzu? ― Did you bring the book?

• 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:

  ‎neska + ‎-a → ‎neska

• “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

-a

1. (Navarro-Lapurdian) Used to form yes/no questions.

   Liburua ekarri duzuia? ― Did you bring the book?

• 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.

• “-a galde-partikula”, in Euskara Batuaren Eskuliburua [Handbook of Standard Basque], Euskaltzaindia, 2023

• IPA^(key): [ a]

-a m anim (noun-forming suffix)

1. 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”)

-a f (noun-forming suffix)

1. forms nouns referring to results of processes

   ‎radit (“to advise”) + ‎-a → ‎rada (“advise, counsel”)

   ‎naladit (“to tune in”) + ‎-a → ‎nálada (“mood”)

• -a in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

• Audio:

  (file)

-a

1. plural of -um

   Synonym: -ums

2. feminine of -us

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

• Audio:

  (file)

-a

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

   ‎belo (“beauty”) + ‎-a → ‎bela (“beautiful”)

   ‎dekstro (“the right direction”) (as opposed to left) + ‎-a → ‎dekstra (“to the right”)

   ‎vero (“truth”) + ‎-a → ‎vera (“true”)

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

   ‎mi (“I; me”) + ‎-a → ‎mia (“of me, my”)

   ‎vi (“you”) + ‎-a → ‎via (“of you, your”)

   ‎ili (“they; them”) + ‎-a → ‎ilia (“of them, their”)

4. Used to form the ordinal numeral.

   ‎unu (“one”) + ‎-a → ‎unua (“first”)

   ‎du (“two”) + ‎-a → ‎dua (“second”)

   ‎dek tri (“thirteen”) + ‎-a → ‎dek-tria (“thirteenth”)

   ‎cent (“hundred”) + ‎-a → ‎centa (“hundredth”)

5. -kind of. Ending of all correlatives of kind in Esperanto.

   ‎ki- + ‎-a → ‎kia (“what kind of”)

   ‎ti- + ‎-a → ‎tia (“that kind of”)

   ‎neni- + ‎-a → ‎nenia (“no kind of”)

-a

1. Used to form verbs from nouns.

   ‎týskur (“a German”) + ‎-a → ‎týska (“Germanize”)

2. Used to form adverbs from adjectives.

   ‎illur (“bad”) + ‎-a → ‎illa (“badly”)

• -ä (in words with front vowel harmony)

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).

-a (front vowel harmony variant -ä, linguistic notation -A)

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

• 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.

From Proto-Finnic *-dak.

-a (front vowel harmony variant -ä, linguistic notation -A)

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

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

From Latin -āt, short counterpart to -āvit.

• IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio:

  (file)

-a

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

-a

1. neutral, unmarked tense-aspect marker

In addition to present time, it often shows habitual action, and can also past and future

-a

1. Romanization of -𐌰

• IPA^(key): [ɒ]

• Audio:

  (file)

From the *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]

-a

2. Possessive (and genitive) suffix: [from 1055]
   1. (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”)

   2. (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”)

   3. (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”)

   4. (with instantaneous time expressions) … ago (referring to a preceding point in time considered as an instant)

      Egy évszázada / két éve / egy órája / sok/hosszú ideje ment el. ― S/he left one century / two years / one hour / a long time ago.

      Synonym: -val/-vel ezelőtt, e.g. egy évszázaddal, két évvel ezelőtt

   5. (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”)

   6. (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)

4. (personal suffix) [from the end of the 12th century]
   1. 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.

      tud (“to know”) → tudta (“he/she knew it”)

      tud → tudja (“he/she knows it (indicative mood)”)

      tud → tudja (“he/she should know it (subjunctive mood)”)

      kér (“to request, ask for sth”) → kérte (“he/she requested it”)

      kér → kérje (“he/she should request it (subjunctive mood)”)

   2. 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”)

• (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:

  -a is added to back-vowel words

  -e is added to front-vowel words

Note that the corresponding (third-person singular) indicative mood of front-vowel verbs is -i, e.g. kéri (“s/he requests it”).

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

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]

-a

2. (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.

   cic (“the sound for calling a cat”) → cica (“kitten”)

   Zsigmond (“Siegmund”) → Zsiga (“Sig”)

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

-a

2. (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.

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]

-a

2. (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.

-a

1. Used to form verbs from nouns.

   ‎spark (“a kick”) + ‎-a → ‎sparka (“to kick”)

   ‎mjólk (“milk”) + ‎-a → ‎mjólka (“to milk”)

   ‎von (“hope”) + ‎-a → ‎vona (“to hope”)

   ‎ávarp (“an address”) + ‎-a → ‎ávarpa (“to address”)

   ‎rit (“a writ”) + ‎-a → ‎rita (“to write”)

   ‎rass (“an ass”) + ‎-a → ‎rassa (“to spank (on the ass)”)

2. Used to form adverbs from adjectives.

   ‎illur (“bad”) + ‎-a → ‎illa (“badly”)

• IPA^(key): /a/

-a

1. suffix denoting adjective.

   ‎arjento (“silver”, noun) + ‎-a → ‎arjenta (“silver”, adjective)

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]

From Proto-Finnic *-da. Cognates include Finnish -a and Estonian -a.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]

-a (front vowel variant -ä)

1. Used to form the partitive case: part of

From Proto-Finnic *-dak. Cognates include Finnish -da.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-ɑ/, [-ɑ]

-a (front vowel variant -ä)

1. First infinitive marker

• After stems ending in -n, -l, -r, -s the alternative forms -na, -la, -ra and -sa are used, respectively.

-a

1. plural ending of certain nouns
2. plural ending of adjectives in the nominative, vocative, dative, and strong genitive cases
3. genitive singular ending of third-declension nouns

Inherited from Latin -a, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ (forms action nouns).

-a f (noun-forming suffix, plural -e)

2. used with a stem to form a feminine singular noun, usually a deverbal

   Synonym: -o

From Latin -at.

-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. used, with a stem, to form the third-person singular present tense of -are verbs

From Latin -ā.

-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. used, with a stem, to form the second-person singular imperative of -are verbs

From Latin -(e/i)am, -(e/i)ās, -(e/i)at.

-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. 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-

From Latin -(e/i)at.

-a (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

1. used, with a stem, to form the third-person singular imperative of -ere verbs, and of those -ire verbs that do not insert -isc-

-a

1. Form of -ə after the vowels A / I / O / U.

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).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /a/, [ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [ä]

-a

1. inflection of -us:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural
2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural of -s

-a f or m (genitive -ae); first declension

2. suffix used to form feminine first-declension nouns
   1. added to the root of a masculine noun denoting a male to form a feminine noun denoting a female counterpart.

      ‎equus m (“horse”) + ‎-a → ‎equa f (“female horse, mare”)

      ‎flāmen m (“flamen”) + ‎-a → ‎flāmina f (“wife of a flamen”)

      ‎magister m (“master, instructor”) + ‎-a → ‎magistra f (“mistress, instructress”)

   2. (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

4. suffix used to form (usually masculine) agent nouns from the roots of (usually compound) verbs

   ‎adveniō + ‎-a → ‎advena

   ‎ager + ‎colō + ‎-a → ‎agricola

   ‎caedō + ‎-a → ‎-cīda

   ‎colō + ‎-a → ‎-cola

   ‎cōnferveō + ‎-a → ‎cōnferva f

   ‎cōnsolidō + ‎-a → ‎cōnsolida f

   ‎scrībō + ‎-a → ‎scrība

First-declension noun.

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.

• (suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms masculine agent nouns): -ō¹

• “-a¹” on page 1/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

From Old Latin -ād, first-declension ablative singular ending.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /aː/, [äː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [ä]

-ā

1. ablative feminine singular of -us

-ā (not comparable)

2. suffixed chiefly to the stems of adjectives terminating in -ter, forms adverbs which are frequently also used as prepositions

   citer + -ā → citrā

   exter + -ā → extrā

   in- + -ter + -ā → intrā

   ulter + -ā → ultrā

• “-ā²” on page 1/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /aː/, [äː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a/, [ä]

-ā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of -ō (first conjugation)

-a

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

   Synonym: -e

-a

1. and (attached only to čəd, čəxʷ, čəɬ & čələp)

-a

1. the (definite article for common nouns)

   Ba'dai uringa.^[1] ― The saucepan is leaking.

• -ja (used after -i, -j; also another ending of different origin)
• -wa (used after -u, -w)

From Arabic ـَة (-a), reinforced by Sicilian and Italian -a, which are unrelated but used similarly.

• IPA^(key): /a/
• Homophone: -ha (distinct after -h, -ħ, -għ; may also trigger different stem alternations)

-a

1. Used to form the feminine forms of most nouns and adjectives.
2. Used to form the plurals of some nouns and adjectives.
3. Used to form singulatives from collective nouns.

-a

1. passive ending (used mainly for verbs with one or two vowels)

Cognate with Guaraní -va.

-a

1. nominalizes the action of the verb

   pendeayvua

   that which you say

2. indicates the place of the verb

   ooa

   where he is going

3. indicates the time of the action of the verb

   nhama'etỹa ára

   the day in which we planted

Cognate with Guaraní -ha.

-a

1. forms ordinal numbers

   mboapya

   third

• -ja, -ya, -na

• IPA^(key): [a]

-a

1. Forms nouns denoting the action of the suffixed verb; -ing, -tion

• Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[4], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 81

From Proto-Samic *-ëk. Cognate with Finnish -e.

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈ-a/

-a (with odd-syllable stems -at)

1. Forms nouns from verbs, indicating something used for performing the verb.

   ‎loavdit (“to cover the tent”) + ‎-a → ‎loavdda (“tent cloth”)

2. Forms nouns from verbs, indicating something that results from having the verb's action performed.

   ‎čállit (“to write”) + ‎-a → ‎čála (“writing”)

• 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.

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

-a

2. the, Definite marker used for

   Synonym: (only for strong nouns; nonstandard since 2012) -i

   1. the definite singular of (strong) feminine nouns.
   2. the definite plural of strong neuter nouns.
   3. (dialectal) the dative singular case of strong masculine nouns.
   4. (archaic, nonstandard) Used to form definite singular dative case of weak masculine and neuter nouns
4. -ed, Used for:
   1. the past tense of a-verbs.
   2. the supines of a-verbs and some preterite-present verbs (e.g. har bada, kasta, kunna, skulla, vilja).
   3. the past participles of a-verbs.
   4. adjectives (e.g. grepa, heilhjarta).
6. Used to form an infinitive form for most verbs. When using split infinitive, this only applies to a select group.
7. Used to form singular indefinite feminine form of some pronouns and adjectives (e.g. inga, lita, noka etc.).

   Synonym: -i (non-standard since 2012)

8. plural of -um
9. plural of -on
10. Used as an ending of weak nouns and adjectives. Used for:
    1. the singular of weak feminine nouns, indefinite (non-standard since 2012) and definite forms.
    2. the singular of weak neuter nouns, indefinite and definite forms (e.g. auga, hjarta, øyra).
    3. (dated or dialectal) adverbs ((pre-2012) alternative form of -e).
    4. (pre-1901 (Landsmål), archaic or dialectal) the singular definite feminine and neuter forms of adjectives.
11. (pre-1901 (Landsmål), archaic, nonstandard) Used to form the feminine indefinite plural of adjectives.
12. (pre-1901 (Landsmål), archaic, nonstandard) Used to form the genitive plural of nouns.

    Synonyms: -a-, -e-

• A, a, à, -a-, 'a

• IPA^(key): /ɑ/

From Proto-West Germanic *-ō, from Proto-Germanic *-ô. Cognate with Old High German -o.

-a

1. nominative masculine n-stem ending

   ācweorna ― squirrel

   fola ― foal

   draca ― dragon

   grīma ― mask

   heorra ― door hinge

2. 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”)

4. used to form masculine agents, usually from verbs

   Synonyms: -end, -ere

   ‎ġiefan (“to give”) + ‎-a → ‎ġiefa (“giver”)

   ‎dēman (“to judge”) + ‎-a → ‎dēma (“a judge”)

   ‎cuman (“to come”) + ‎-a → ‎cuma (“guest”)

• Middle English: -e

From Proto-West Germanic *-ō, from Proto-Germanic *-ô.

-a

2. Ending forming adverbs

• 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.

• Middle English: -e (fossilised)

-a

1. Forms the nominative, accusative, and genitive plural of o-stem feminine nouns and u-stem masculine nouns

   ‎sunu (“son”) + ‎-a → ‎suna (“sons, sons'”)

   ‎talu (“tale”) + ‎-a → ‎tala (“tales, tales'”)

-a

1. Forms the genitive plural of a-stem nouns

   ‎word (“word”) + ‎-a → ‎worda (“words'”)

-a

1. Forms the genitive and dative singular of u-stem nouns

   ‎sunu (“son”) + ‎-a → ‎suna (“son's, son”)

Inherited from Latin -am.

-a f (plural -as)

1. feminine singular of -o

• Galician: -a
• Portuguese: -a

Inherited from Latin -at, from Proto-Italic *-āt, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti.

-a

1. a suffix indicating the second-person singular present indicative of a verb in -ar

   ‎amar (“to love”) + ‎-a → ‎ama (“[he/she/it] loves”)

   ‎cantar (“to sing”) + ‎-a → ‎canta (“[he/she/it] sings”)

• Fala: -a
• Galician: -a
• Portuguese: -a

• IPA^(key): [a]

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

-a

1. combines with prepositions to form a relative pronoun

   ‎ar (“for the sake of”) + ‎-a → ‎ara (“for the sake of whom/which”)

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]

-a

1. forms the comparative degree of some adjectives

   Synonym: -iu

   ‎lethan (“broad”) + ‎-a → ‎letha (“broader”)

Used with a relatively small number of adjectives to form an irregular comparative. The regular, productive comparative suffix is -iu.

• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, §§ 372-73, pages 235; reprinted 2017 (Please provide a date or year)

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

• -at, -t

-a

1. indicates negation; does not (Can we add an example for this sense?)

From Proto-Germanic *-ōną.

-a

1. Creates denominative verbs from nouns
2. Creates factitive verbs from adjectives

From Proto-Germanic *-ê and *-ô.

-a

1. Used to make adverbs from adjectives

   ‎gjarn + ‎-a → ‎gjarna

• Icelandic: -a

From Proto-Germanic *-ǭ or *-ô.

-a f or n

1. Occurs in the nominative singular of feminine on-stem nouns
2. Occurs in the singular of neuter an-stem nouns

Different noun forms.

-a

1. indefinite genitive plural (of nouns)
2. inflection of -i (masculine an-stem nouns):
   1. indefinite oblique singular
   2. indefinite accusative plural
3. indefinite accusative plural of -r (masculine a-stem nouns)