| 释义 |
▪ I. † a, a.1 (def. numeral) Obs. or dial.
[OE. án, one, of which the n began to disappear before a cons. about 1150. In the definite numeral sense, án and á, following the ordinary course of OE. long á, became in the south bef. 1300, on (oon, one), o (oo); and eventually o became obs., leaving one as the form in all positions; while an and a, pronounced lightly and indistinctly, became the ‘indefinite article.’ See next word. But in the north an (or ane) and a were written in both senses, the stress or emphasis alone distinguishing the numeral from the article.]
Apocopate form of an, ane, used only before a consonant. See ane, o a., and one.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 39 Ure drihten drof fele deules togedere ut of á man, þe was of his wit. c1300K. Alis. 5955 An eighe he had in his vys, And a foot, and no moo Iwys. c1350Hampole Prose Tr. 32 Some ere of a tre and some er of anoþer. 1483Caxton, Geoffroi de la Tour, lf. iiii b, They satte att dyner in a hall and the quene in another.
A in the various forms a, ae, eae, eea, yea, yà, is still the regular form of the numeral one when used adjectively, in the northern dialects, the absolute form being an, ane, ean, yen, yàn, etc.
▪ II. a, a.2 (indef. article)
(toneless ə; emph. eɪ)
Before a vowel-sound an (ən, emph. æn).
[A weakening of OE. án, ‘one’, already by 1150 reduced before a cons. to a. About the same time the numeral began to be used in a weakened sense (usually unexpressed in OE. as he wæs gód man, ‘he was a good man’; cf. Chron. 1137 ‘he wæs god munec & god man,’ and 1140 ‘he wæs an yuel man’); becoming in this sense proclitic and toneless, ăn, ă, while as a numeral it remained long, ān, ā, and passed regularly during the next cent. into ōn, ō; see the prec. word. Though an began to sink to a in midl. dial. by 1150, it often remained bef. a cons. to 1300; bef. sounded h, an was retained after 1600, and somet. after 1700, as an house, an heifer, an hermitage. The present rule is to use an bef. a vowel-sound (incl. h mute, as an hour); a bef. a consonant-sound (including h sounded, and eu-, u- with sound of yū-, as a host, a one, a eunuch, a unit). But in unaccented syllables, many, perhaps most, writers still retain an bef. sounded h, some even bef. eu, u, as an historian, an euphonic vowel, an united appeal, though this is all but obsolete in speech, and in writing a becomes increasingly common in this position. A, an has been indeclinable in midl. and north. dial. since 1150, but vestiges of the OE. declension (as nom. f. ane, gen. m. anes, gen. & dat. f. are, acc. m. anne) remained much later in southern. In north. an was frequently written ane (with e mute), the use of a and an(e being as elsewhere; but about 1475 Scottish writers began to use ane in all positions, a practice which prevailed till the disuse of literary Scotch after 1600. Quotations illustrating the history of the forms:—
c1131O.E. Chron. (Laud. MS.) anno 1125 Se man ðe hafde an pund he ne mihte cysten ænne peni at anne market. c1150Ibid. anno 1137, Wel þu myhtes faren all a dæis fare, sculdest þu neure finden man in tune sittende. c1175Lamb. Hom. 221 God þa ȝeworhte aenne man óf láme. a1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 ȝif hie was riche wimman, a lomb. 1205Layamon I. 3 A [masc.] Frenchis clerc, Wace wes ihoten, þa luuede he a [fem.] maide, þeo was Lauine mawe. 1483Caxton Geoffroi de la Tour E 4 A baronnesse, ryght a hyghe and noble lady of lygnage. 1532More Conf. Tyndale Wks. 1557 447/2 We haue two articles in english, a & the: a or an (for bothe is one article, the tone before a consonant the tother before a vowell) is commen to euery thinge almost. 1611Bible Acts vii. 47 But Solomon built him an house [1881 Revised a house]. Ibid. vii. 27 An eunuch of great authority [Revised a eunuch]. 1732Pope Essay Man iv. 78 Nor in an hermitage set Dr. Clarke. 1763Johnson Ascham Wks. 1816 XII. 306 An yearly pension. 1823Lingard Hist. Eng. VI. 219 An eulogium on his talents. 1850Mrs. Jameson Sac. & Leg. Art 206 A eulogium of Mary Magdalene. 1857Lever Tom Burke xxxix. 387 A eulogium on their conduct. 1843Penny Cycl. XXVI. 25/2 In November [1835] the great seal was put to a charter creating a University of London. 1847Tennyson Princess i. 149 All wild to found an University For maidens.
About the 15th cent. a or an was commonly written in comb. with the following n. as aman, anoke, anele. When they were separated, much uncertainty prevailed as to the division; thus we find a nend, a noke, a nadder, an adder, an est. In some words a mistaken division has passed into usage: see adder, newt.
c1420Chron. Vilod. 515 And ryȝt with þat worde he made a nend.]
A is strictly adjective and can only be used with a substantive following. Meanings:—
1. One, some, any: the oneness, or indefiniteness, being implied rather than asserted. It is especially used in first introducing an object to notice, which object, after being introduced by a, is kept in view by the; as ‘I plucked a flower; this is the flower.’ Used before a noun singular, and its attributes.
a. Ordinarily before the name of an individual object or notion, or of a substance, quality or state individualized, and before a collective noun, as a tree, a wish, an ice, a beauty, a new ink, a greater strength, a second youth, a legion, a hundred, a pair.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 121 Vre drihten wes iled to sleȝe al swa me dede a scep. 1297R. Glouc. 78 He hadde a gret ost in a lutel stonde. 1847Longfellow Ev. i. i. 59 A celestial brightness—a more ethereal beauty. Mod. An ink that will retain its fluidity; a permanent black. Is it a red wheat? What kind of a wine is this? To walk out in a pouring rain. There was a something—of that we may be sure. Oh, a mere nothing.
b. Also before proper names, used connotatively, with reference to the qualities of the individual; or figuratively as the type of a class.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 223 A Daniel come to iudgement, yea a Daniel! 1665–9Boyle Occ. Refl. iv. xii. 245 (1675) Our own History affords us a Henry the Fifth. 1683D. A. Art of Converse 53 Cannot ye praise a philosopher unless ye say he is an Aristotle. c1830A Fable (in 4th Irish Schbk. 50) He whom his party deems a hero, His foes a Judas or a Nero. 1855Tennyson Maud i. iv. 46 Shall I weep if a Poland fall? shall I shriek if a Hungary fail?
c. A follows the adj. in many a, such a, what a! and the obs. or dial. each a, which a; it follows any adj. preceded by how, so, as, too, as how large a sum; and in earlier Eng. the genit. phrases what manner, no manner, whatkins, nakins, what sort, etc., as what manner a man = cujusmodi homo? (See these words.)
In none of these was the a found in Old English.
Many a is not to be confused with the approximative a many (see 2). Such a was earlier (2–3) a such. Each a and which a survive in the north, as ilk a, whilk a. What manner a, and its likes soon became corrupted to what manner of. See a prep.2 = of.
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. iv. 12 Ah, what a shame! ah, what a fault were this! 1611― Wint. T. v. iii. 140 And haue (in vaine) said many A prayer vpon her graue. 1611Bible Ruth iv. 1 Ho, such a one! [Later reprints, such an one.] ― James iii. 5 Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth [1881 Revised Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire.] Mod. Too high a price for so small an advantage. As fine a child as you will see.
d. With nouns of multitude, after which the gen. sign, or prep. of, has been omitted, a comes apparently before pl. nouns. Compare a score of men, a dozen (of) men, hundreds of men, a hundred men, a thousand miles; and the obs. a certain of men or a certain men, now certain men. (See under these words.)
c1225Sawles Warde 251 Þah ich hefde a þusent tungen of stele. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. lxxx. 101 A certayne of varlettes and boyes, who ran away. Ibid. xiv. 13 A certayne noble knightis..she kept. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. i. 2 It was upon this fashion bequeathed me by will, but poore a thousand crownes. 1653Holcroft Procopius i. 32 Belisarius commanded Bessas with a 1000. selected men to charge them. 1860Tyndall Glaciers ii. §11. 290 He had to retreat more than a dozen times.
2. A with numeral adjectives removes their definiteness, or expresses an approximate estimate: some, a matter of, about; as a sixty fathom, a six years, a two hundred spears; so also a many men, a few retainers, the latter already in OE. áne feawa (áne plural = some). An exceedingly common use of a in 14–16th c. Now obs. except in a few, a great many, a good many (a many, a good few, a small few, dialectal). See also under these words.
c1000Gosp. Nicod. (1698) 5 Ane feawa worda. 1297R. Glouc. 18 Þe kyng with a fewe men hymself flew. 1366Mandeville 57 That See is wel a 6 myle of largenesse in bredth. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 275 And up they risen, a ten other a twelve. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. xxxvii. 50 A ii hundred speres. Ibid. xxxviii. 51, A xx. M. Almaynes. 1551Turner Herbal ii. 7 Stepe them a fiue or sixe dayes in vineger. 1595Drake Voyage (Hakl. Soc.) 5 He had a three hundred men more in his squadron. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. i. 121 And a many merry men with him. 1611Bible Luke ix. 28 An eight days after these sayings. 1684Bunyan Pilg. Prog. 11 Introd. Have also overcome a many evils. 1833Tennyson Miller's Dau. 221 They have not shed a many tears. c1860H. Bonar Hymn A few more struggles here, A few more partings o'er, A few more toils, a few more tears, And we shall weep no more. Mod. A great many acquaintances, a good many well-wishers, a few tried friends.
3. In a more definite sense: One, a certain, a particular; the same. Now only used in a few phrases like once on a day; two at a time; two, three, all of a sort, a size, a price, an age.
c1220St. Katherine (Abb. Cl.) 1 Constantin & Maxence weren on a time..hehest in Rome. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. cx. 132 In his dayes, ther was at a tyme, a great tournayeng before Cambray. 1551Robinson More's Utopia 45 The killing of a man or the takyng of his money{ddd}were both a matter. 1553–87Foxe A. & M. 695/1 (1596) Whether the christians yeeld to them, or yeeld not, all is a matter. 1601Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 244 He and his Phisitions Are of a minde. 1602― Ham. v. ii. 277 These Foyles haue all a length. 1694Bp. Tenison in Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 344 Six little pieces of coin (all of a sort) found in an urn by a ploughman. 1701Swift Wks. (1755) II. i. 25 The power of these princes..was much of a size with that of the kings in Sparta. Mod. Provb. Fowls of a feather flock together.
4. ‘Denoting the proportion of one thing to another.’ J.; chiefly of rate or price: in each, to or for each; as a hundred a year, twenty pounds a man, thirty shillings a head, sixpence an ounce, a penny a line. This was originally the preposition a, OE. an, on, defining time, as in twice a day; whence by slight extension, a penny a day (par jour, per diem). Then, being formally identified with the indef. art., a, an was extended analogically from time, to space, measure, weight, number, as a penny a mile, sixpence a pound (la livre), tenpence a hundred, so much a head. See a prep.1 8 b.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xvii. 4 Seofen siðum on dæᵹ. a1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 67 Enes o dai. Ibid. 109 Anes á dái. 1382Wyclif Matt. xx. 2 A peny for the day. 1526Tindale ib. A peny a daye. 1584W. E[lderton] A new Yorkshire song [Yorke, Yorke, for my Monie, etc.] Yorksh. Anth. (1851) 2 And they shot for twentie poundes a bowe. 1725De Foe Voyage round the World (1840) 50 His men to whom I gave four pieces of eight a man. 1794Southey Botany Bay Ecl. 3 Wks. II. 82 To be popt at like pigeons for sixpence a day. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 305 Three hundred and eighty thousand pounds a year.
▪ III. a also a', a.3|ɔː|
[from all; l lost as in alms, talk. A occurs rarely and doubtfully in ME. north. or n. midl.; a' is the current spelling in modern literary Scotch.]
= all.
1280Havelok 610 He sal hauen in his hand A denemark and england. 1795Burns III. 234 For a' that, an' a' that, His ribbond, star, an' a' that, The man o' independent mind He looks an' laughs at a' that.
▪ IV. † a, pron. Obs. or dial.|ə|
[for ha = he, heo, hi, he, she, (it), they, when stressless; chiefly in southern and western writers. A for he (ha in the Ayenbit) is common from 3 to 5; in the dramatists of 6, 7, it is frequent in representations of familiar speech. A for ha, heo, = she, they, is rarer and somewhat doubtful in Layamon, but common in Trevisa; not found after 1450. Owing to the persistence of grammatical gender in the south, Trevisa also uses a = he of inanimate objects, and so apparently = it, which takes its place when rationality and sex are substituted for gender in the concord of the pronouns. The s.w. dialects still apply he to inanimate objects. See further under he.]
1. He.
1250Layamon (later text) I. 59 Þat a lond a verde sechinge ware he mihte wonie [1205 he ferde sechinde]. c1315Shoreham Poems 3 Ac a deythe and he not [i.e. wots not] wanne. 1387Trevisa Higden (Norm. Inv. in Morris Specim. 341) Kyng Edward hadde byhote duc William þat a scholde be kyng after hym if he dyede wyþoute chyldern. c1440Arthur 370 He went ouer to þe hulle syde, And þere a fonde a wommane byde. 1553Sir T. Gresham (in Froude Hist. Eng. V. xxix. 472/2) For that the retailer doth sell..a doth not only take away the living of the Merchant. 1584Peele Arraign. Paris ii. i. 22 Tut, Mars hath horns to butt withal, although no bull 'a shows, 'A never needs to mask in nets, 'a fears no jealous foes. 1604Shakes. Ham. iii. iii. 74 Now might I doe it, but now a is a praying, And now Ile doo't, and so a goes to heauen. 1610Histriomastix i. 157 A speaks to you players: I am the poet.
2. She.
1205Layamon III. 127 Ne beo ich nauere bliðe, þa wile a [the queen] beoð aliue. c1220St. Katherine (Abb. Cl.) 136 þus hwil a wiste hire & þohte ai to witen hire meiden in meidenhad. 1387Trevisa MS. Cott. Vesp. D. vii. 29 b, He ran home to uore & prayede hys wyf þat hue wolde helpe for to saue hym,..bote a dude þe contrary.
3. It (for he).
1387Trevisa (in Morris Specim. 334) Yn þis ylond groweþ a ston þat hatte gagates; ȝef me axeþ hys feyrnesse—a ys blak as gemmes buþ..a brenneþ yn water & quencheþ in oyle..ȝif a ys yfroted & yhat, a holdeþ what hym neyȝheþ; ȝef me axeþ hys goodnes, hyt heeleþ þe dropesy & hyt be ydrongke, etc. c1500Spirit. Rem. (in Nugæ Poeticæ 67) Cordys contrycio ys the too [= second] A wasshyth the woundes as doth a welle.
4. They.
1205Layamon I. 149 Ouer se a icomen; hauene sone a nomen [1250 Ouer see hii comen, and hauene hi nomen]. 1387Trevisa Higden (Descr. Brit. in Morris Specim. 340) Þe kinges of Engelond woneþ alwey fer fram þat contray, for a buþ more yturnd to þe souþ contray; & ȝef a goþ to þe norþ contray, a goþ wiþ gret help & strengthe.
¶ A still retains all these meanings, and especially that of he, in southern and western dialects, where it appears as |ə, ə(r)|. See Elworthy Gramm. of West Somerset Dial. 33, and Halliwell.
In mod. north. dialects a, also aa, ah, aw |ɑː, ɔː| = I, being the first half of the diphthong |aɪ, ɔɪ|.
1853Akerman Wiltshire Tales 169 One night a was coming whoame vrom market, and vell off's hos into the rood, a was zo drunk. 1864Tennyson North. Farmer But Parson a comes an' a goos, an' a says it eäsy an' freeä. Ibid. Doctors, they knaws nowt, for a says what's nawways true: Naw soort o' koind o' use to saäy the things that a do.
1864T. Clarke Jonny Shippard (Westm. dial.) Let ma git theear, an a's mebbie preeave a bit aaldther ner tha tak ma ta be.
▪ V. a, v.
For ha, ha', a worn-down form of have (cf. French a from habet) when unaccented or obscure in compound verbal forms, or where the independent meaning is sunk in a phrase, as might a been, would a said, should a thought, a done! = have done, a mind! = have a mind. Exceedingly frequent in 13–17th c.; in later times chiefly in representations of colloquial or familiar speech, in which it is still often said, though infrequently written, except in specimens of local dialects, where also, under literary influence, it is generally spelt ha, ha', although no h is pronounced.
1350Will. Palerne 1177 A mynde on me lord, for þi moder love help me. 1366Mandeville viii. 86 The Iewes wolde a stoned him. c1400Apol. for Lollards, I knowlech to a felid & seid þus. 1468Cov. Myst. 38 (1841) Ha don; and answere me as tyght. 1477Earl Rivers Dictes (Caxton) 13, & might a made you as euil as he. 1543Supp. to Hardyng 105 Richard might..a saved hymself, if he would a fled awaie. 1556Chron. Grey Friars 28 The byshoppe shulde a come agayne to Powlles, & a preched agayne. 1684Bunyan Pilg. ii. 84, I might a had Husbands afore now, tho' I spake not of it. 1864Tennyson North. Farmer, I done my duty by un, as I 'a done by the lond. 1864Mrs. Lloyd Ladies of Polcarrow 149 We would a-had ‘hurrahs’ and a tar-barrel, Miss Loveday, ma'am. 1866Mayne Reid Headless Horseman lxvii. 334 If 't hedn't a been for the savin' o' her, I'd a let 'em come on down the gully. 1952E. Wilson Tuesday & Wednesday i, in Equations of Love 11 If I'd a known there was a luncheon party on I'd a stayed home. 1968E. Gaines in A. Chapman New Black Voices (1972) 97 If I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't 'a' ate it at all.
b. In mod. use, repr. colloq. or dial. pronunc. of have in could (must, should, etc.) have: see coulda, musta, shoulda, etc.
▪ VI. † a, adv. Obs.
Also aa, o, oo.
[OE. á, áwa, cognate with ON. ǽ, OHG. eo, io, Goth. aiw, cf. aiws an age, L. aevum, Gr. αἰών and adv. αἰεί. This word became obs. in 13th c., being replaced by the cognate Norse word aȝ, ai, ei, ay, aye, still used. See aye, and o.]
Ever, aye, always.
a1000Beowulf 915 Gæð á wyrd swá hió sceal. Ibid. 1914 Þæt þin [dóm] lyfað · áwa tó aldre. c1175Lamb. Hom. 183 Te engles .a. biholdeþ þé. 1205Layamon II. 54 And a [1250 euere] to ure liue · witen ure leoden. c1220St. Kath. 279 þat ha schulen lasten a. 1230Ancren Riwle 36 World a buten ende. 1230Hali Meid. 15 Þer is a feht & mot beon aa nede.
▪ VII. a, prep.1|ə|
Also o.
[A worn-down proclitic form of OE. preposition an, on. In compounds and common phrases this became a even in OE., as abútan, a timan. The separate an was labialized to on, which form also (in West Saxon) absorbed the prep. in, and so had the meanings on, in; unto, into, to. In 11th c., on began to be reduced before consonants to o, which from its tonelessness soon sank to a (ə). Before a vowel an was occasionally used; when emphatic on remained. The separate a is now rarely used, being replaced by the full on, in, or the various prepositions which represent them in modern idiom; except in a few verbal constructions, as to go a begging, to set a going; and in temporal distributive phrases, as twice a day, once a year, where it has been confused with the ‘indefinite article.’ See a a.2 4. But the preposition a really remains in a large number of combinations, where present spelling treats it as a prefix to the governed word, and the whole as a compound adverb, as abed, afoot, aback, around, atop, afloat, asleep, alive. As these combinations are now viewed as individual words, they will be found in their alphabetical places. The separate uses of a, treated here, are very numerous, but all included in those of OE. on.]
1. Superposition: on; as a the ground, a water and a land, a the book, a the rood, a bed, a bench, a shipboard, a wheels, a foot, a horseback. Obs. except in a few combinations, abed, aboard, ashore, afield, afoot, etc.
a1200Moral Ode in Lamb. Hom. 173 Wise men..a boken hit writen, þer [me] mei hit reden. 1205Layamon III. 7 Þa folc..þat þer eoden a uoten [1250 afote]. 1230Ancren Riwle 430 Ase ofte ase ȝe readeð out [= aught] o þisse boc. c1420Lydgate Stor. Thebes 1561 (Skeat) But he, allas! was mad light a foote. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. xvii. 18 They are all a horsbacke. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iv. iii. 42 He..will stand a tip-toe. 1611Chapman May-Day (Plays 1873) II. 328 Let her meditate a my late motion. 1616Purchas Pilg., Desc. Ind. (1864) 157 He almost first starued a ship⁓boord. 1645Howell Engl. Tears 173/1 All my neighbour Countreys were a fire. 1861All Y. Round V. 13 And made him trot, barefooted, on before Himself, who rode a horse⁓back.
2. Motion: on, upon, on to; as a the ground, a the folk, a the stead, a field, a bed. Obs. exc. as in prec. as go a-shore.
1205Layamon I. 97 Moni eotend ic leide dead a þene grund. c1305E.E.P., St. Katherine 92 [Thou] þus fole maistres of clergie: bringest and settest a benche. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. cxlvii. 176 The quene was brought a bedde of a fayre lady named Margarete.
3. Juxtaposition: on, at; chiefly in the phrases a right (or left) half, a this (or that) side, a God's half = on God's side or behalf; and a-to-side = a t' o side, on (the) one side, aside. Obs. exc. in comb.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 141 And þer stod a richt halue and a leeft? alse an castel wal. c1380Sir Ferumbras 1680 A þes half Mantrible þe grete Citee? ys þe brigge y-set. 1449Pecock Repressor 336 In the daies of Princis A this side the Emperour Constantyn. 1477Earl Rivers Dictes (Caxton) 1 To sette a parte alle ingratitude. 1483Caxton Geoffroi de la Tour E. v, And bothe..wente and leyd them self abothe his sydes. 1600Holland Livy xxxvii. xi. 950 Those vessels which lay atone side upon the land. 1684Bunyan Pilg. ii. 67 I thought he gave you something, because he called you a to-side.
†4. Position or situation: in; as a thy hand, a the world, a the folk, a the shroud, a water, a blood, a Rome. Obs.
c1000Blickl. Hom. 89 On bendum & o wope. c1066O.E. Chron. (Cott. MS.) an. 1011 Man nolde him átiman gafol beodon. 1205Layamon I. 49 A þon heðene lawen [1250 In þan heþene lawe]. a1300Judas, in Reliq. Ant. I. 144 Al it lavede a blode. 1401Pol. Poems II. 43 Liȝtly a lewid man maye leyen hem a water. 1525Ld. Berners Froissart II. ccxxxii. 721 So the bysshoppe returned and came into Almaygne, and founde the kyng a Conualence. 1608Tourneur Reveng. Tragœdie v. i. 129 That's enow a' conscience! 1660Harrington Prerog. of Pop. Sov. (1700) ii. v. 362 Which is enough, a conscience!
5. General direction or position: in the direction of, towards; as, a back, a fore, a far, a head, a side. Still used in comb. aback, etc.
c1420Lydgate Stor. Thebes 1170 (Skeat Spec. Eng. Lit.) And the remnaunt amased drogh a bak.
6. Partition: in, into; as a two, a three, a twelve, a pieces. Obs. except in comb. asunder, apart.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 141 And þa fouwer weren ideled a twelue. c1280E.E.P., Fall & Passion 14 Hir þoȝt hir hert wol a two. 1398Trevisa Barth. De Pr. R. iii. xii. The vertu sensible þat meueþ is departid a thre [ed. 1535 on thre, 1582 in three]. 1509Fisher Wks. (1876) 55 An other sawed a two. 1535Coverdale Acts i. 18, & brast a sunder in the myddes. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 80 Being torne a pieces. 1623Bingham Hist. Xenophon 75 Their legs and sides crushed, and broken a peeces.
†7. Position in a series: at, in; as a first, a last, a the(n) end. Obs.
1205Layamon III. 106 þ̶ he com a þan ende. 1230Ancr. R. 46 A last schal siggen, hwo se con: Oremus.
8. Time: in, on, by; as a day, a night, an eve, a morrow, a Monday, a doom's day. Occ. prefixed to OE. adverbial genitives dæȝes and nihtes, giving a nights, now-a-days. Obs. exc. in a few archaic phrases.
c1000Ags. Gospels Mark iv. 27, & sawe & arise daeᵹes & nihtes [Lindisf. & slepeð & arisað on næht and on daeᵹ. Hatton, & sawe & arise daiᵹes & nihtes]. Ibid. Luke xxi. 37 He was on dæᵹ on þam temple lærende . & on niht he eode & wunode on þam munte. 1205Layamon II. 401 ȝif mon mihte mid crafte · a dæi oðer a nihte [1250 Bi daiȝe oþer bi nihte]. a1200Cotton Hom. 239 A domes deie. 1362Langland P. Pl. A i. 99 And not to faste a Friday. c1430Syr Generides 1797 Sith yesterday a eve, This sekenes first did him greve. 1525Ld. Berners Froissart II. xxvii. 77 He had not thanne this vsage to ryn a nyghtes, as he doeth nowe. 1575Laneham Letter 20 (1871) A Sunday, opportunely, the weather brake vp again. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. i. ii. 193 Let me haue men about me, that are fat, Sleekeheaded men, and such as sleepe a-nights. 1669Digby Closet Opened (1677) 134 Monsieur de Bourdeaux used to take a mornings a broth thus made. 1688Bunyan Holy War 336 The bold villain{ddd}lurks in the Diabolonian dens a days and haunts like a ghost honest men's houses a nights. 1721Swift Epist. Corr. II. 557 Why did you not set out a Monday, like a true country parson?
b. Especially, with adverbs of repetition: once, twice, many times, oft a day (OE. on dæȝe), twice a week, thrice a year.
In this construction a is now generally explained as the ‘indefinite article’; and it has, through such phrases as a penny a day, fourteen shillings a week, led to the use of a to express rate, or proportion, as in a penny a mile, tenpence a pound. Comp. French deux francs par jour, and deux francs la livre. See a a.2 4.
c1000Ags. Gospels Luke xx. 4 Seofan siþun on dæᵹ [Lindisf. Seofa siðe on dæᵹe]. c1150Hatton Gosp., ibid. Seofen syðan on daiᵹ. a1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 67 Ete nu leinte mete, and enes o day. Ibid. 109 Hie arist anes á dái. c1305St. Edmund 72 And werede here þrie a wyke, oþer tueye atte leste. 1382Wyclif Exod. xxiii. 17 Thries a ȝeer [1388 in the ȝeer] shal apere al thi maal child before the Lord thi God. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 498 Ful ofte a day he swelte and seyde alas! 1611Bible Ps. cxix. 164 Seuen times a day doe I praise thee. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 174 It moves at the rate of between four and five miles an hour.
†9. Manner: in, with, etc.; as a this wise, a some wise, a gram = in wrath, a scorn, a blisse; a French, a Latin; a great speed, a purpose = on purpose, a colour = under colour, in the pretence, a that'n = in that way. Cf. OE. on þissre wisan, on Englisc, mod. on this wise, in English. Obs.
1230Ancren Riwle 100 þis is a cruel word, & a grim word mid alle, þ̶ vre Louerd seið ase a grome & a scorn. c1305E.E.P., St. Katherine 92 For ich wole bet þat ȝe hire ouercome: mid resouns a somme wise. 1387Trevisa Higden Polychr. (in Morris Specim. 338) To construe here lessons & here þingis a Freynsch. c1400Apol. for Lollards 49 A color of takyng of almis. 1533More Answ. to Poysoned Boke (Wks. 1557) 1117/2 Els may he neuer make himself so sure, and face it out a this fashion. 1590Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. iii. 312 Stands here a purpose. 1601Shakes. All's Well ii. iii. 265 Why dooest thou garter vp thy armes a this fashion? 1695Congreve Love for Love iii. vii. 218 (1866) [A sailor says] An' you stand astern a that'n we two will never grapple together.
†10. Capacity: in any one's name; esp. a God's name. Obs.
c1300Life of Beket 146 And wende forth a Godes name: to the holi londe. c1386Chaucer Doctor's T. 250 Do with your child your wille, a goddes name! 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. cxix. 142 Let them depart whyder they woll a goddes name. a1577J. Northbrooke Against Dicing (1843) 152 Daunce a God's name. 1577T. Vautrollier Luther's Ep. to Galathians 129 Worke on a Gods blessing. 1600Holland Livy ix. iv. 315/2 Go then, Consuls, a gods name, redeem the cittie. 1702Pope Chaucer's Wife of Bath 48 Let such (a God's name) with fine wheat be fed.
11. State: in; as a live, a sleep, a work, a jar, a thirst, a blaze, a fright, a float, a stare. In these the word governed by a was originally a noun, e.g. life, sleep, work, float (‘on the Mediterranean flote,’ Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 234), but being often the verbal n. of state or act, it has been in modern times erroneously taken as a verb, and used as a model for forming such adverbial phrases from any verb, as a-wash, a-blaze, a-bask, a-swim, a-flaunt, a-blow, a-dance, a-run, a-stare, a-gaze, a-howl, a-tremble, a-shake, a-jump. These are purely modern and analogical.
1205Layamon I. 59 Wel wes him on liue. [1250 Wel was him aliue.] c1225Sawles Warde 249 Lest sum for-truste him, ant feole o slepe. 1533More Answ. to Poysoned Boke Wks. (1557) 1119/1 Al the while that al those holy folke were a worke therwith. 1556Chron. Grey Friars 47 And [they] sette it alle a fyer, and went their wayes agayne. 1611Cotgr. Estre au dessus du vent, To flourish, live in prosperitie, be al a flaunt, or a hoight. 1611Bible 2 Chron. ii. 18 Three thousand and sixe hundred ouerseers to set the people a worke. 1616R. C. Times' Whistle v. 1843 One straight falles a sleep. 1663Spalding Troubles in reign of Chas. I (1829) 44 The soldiers sleeping carelessly in the bottom of the ship upon heather, were all a-swim, through the water that came in at the holes and leaks of the ship. 1868Morning Star 18 June, Rocks which are a-wash at low tide.
12. Process; with a verbal n. taken passively: in process of, in course of, undergoing. Varying with in: ‘forty and six years was this temple in building.’ arch. or dial.
(In modern language the a is omitted and the verbal n. treated as a participle, passive in sense; as the house was a building, the house was building. In still more modern speech a formal participle passive appears: the house was being built.)
1393Langland P. Pl. C iv. 51 We haue a wyndow a worchyng. 1489Caxton Faytes of Armes i. xiv. 37 Suche fortyfycacyons are in dooyng. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. cxx. 143 Ther they brake all [the bridge] to peaces that had been longe a makynge. 1598Stow Survay of London i. 3 (1603) Whilst these things were a doing. 1611Bible 1 Peter iii. 20 In the dayes of Noah while the Arke was a preparing. 1662H. More Ant. ag. Atheism (1712) iii. xiii. 130 The shrieks of men while they are a murthering. 1692Bentley B.L. 211 The state or condition of matter before the world was a-making, which is compendiously exprest by the word chaos. 1727Wodrow Corresp. (1843) III. 296 Tomorrow, all day, papers will be a-reading.
13. Action; with a verbal n. taken actively.
a. with be: engaged in. arch. or dial.
(In literary Eng. the a is omitted, and the verbal n. treated as a participle agreeing with the subject, and governing its case, to be fishing, fighting, making anything. But most of the southern dialects, and the vulgar speech both in England and America, retain the earlier usage.)
1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. xviii. 20 They had ben a fyghtyng with theyr ennemies. c1590Horsey Travels (Hakl. Soc.) 163 His enyme..that was a preparinge to invade his countrys. 1683tr. Erasmus Moriae Encomium 18 She imitates me in being always a laughing. 1684Bunyan Pilg. ii. (1862) 209 She is a taking of her last farewell of her Country. 1716–18Lady M. W. Montagu Letters I. xxvii. 88 Orders{ddd}which may possibly be a month a-coming. 1769Robertson Charles V, III. viii. 65 The tempest which had been so long a gathering was ready to break forth. 1815Leigh Hunt Feast of the Poets 11 You'd have thought 'twas the Bishops or Judges a coming. 1845Disraeli Sybil 296 (Routl.) ‘A-dropping wages, and a-raising tommy like fun,’ said Master Waghorn.
b. with verb of motion: to, into; to go a fishing, come a wooing, fall a laughing, crying, fighting, to set the bells a ringing, to send children a begging. Arch. or dial. save in a few phrases, as to go a begging (mostly of offices); and with set, as to set the clock a going, the bells a ringing, folk a thinking, where also a is often omitted.
1526Tindale John xxi. 3 Simon Peter sayde vnto them: I goo a fysshynge. 1551Robinson More's Utopia 43 Whither, I pray you, but a beggynge or elles a stealing. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. (1651) iii. 4. i. 3. 667 ..he would burst out a laughing. 1692Bentley B.L. 61 Watches must be wound up to set them a going. 1715Burnet Hist. own Time II. 207 (1766) As soon as he was taken he fell a crying. 1788Th. Jefferson Writings II. 373 (1859) We were able to set the loan a going again. Mod. Such positions rarely go a begging.
▪ VIII. a, prep.2 Obs.|ə|
[worn down from of, f being dropped bef. a cons., and the toneless o sunk into the neutral ə, which being the ordinary sound of toneless a, as in a man, ămain, Americă, was here also written a. It was once the ordinary representative of of in certain phrases, as men a war, cloth a gold, inns a court, time a day, fustian a Napes, out a doors (where apparently confused with at, cf. in a doores) and familiarly in many others. In mod. spelling, of when contracted is written o', but the familiar pronunciation is still (ə) as in man o'|ə| war.]
1. Of. Usu. repr. colloq., popular, or dial. pronunc., esp. in American and Black English. Freq. appended to the preceding word (sometimes with reduplication of final consonant), as cuppa, kinda, lotsa, lotta, etc.
1500Chevy Chase (MS. Ashmole 48) 84 He spendyd A spere a trusti tre. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. xxxviii. 52 The cyty was strong, and well furnysshed of men a warr. 1532More Conf. Dr. Barnes viii. (Wks. 1557) 804/2, Ye shall beare no part of that flesh foorth a dores. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 76 The name of John a Gaunt. 1599― Much Ado iii. iv. 19 Cloth a gold and cut, and lac'd with siluer. 1599Chapman An humerous dayes myrth (Plays, 1873) I. 63 Theeues, Puritanes, murderers, in adoores, I say. 1631F. Lenton Leasures char. 29 A young innes a court gentleman. 1673J. Janeway Heaven upon Earth (1847) 286 'Tis not time-a-day for you to be sleeping or playing. 1800M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 78 ‘Judy's out a luck,’ said I, striving to laugh—‘I'm out a luck,’ said he. 1928[see bullshit 1]. 1965C. Colter in A. Chapman New Black Voices (1972) 72 See that squad car?—up in fronta the drug store. 1976CRC Jrnl. July 14/1 All a we is one, all a we not the same. 1981Westindian World 31 July 4/1 Who should I buck up last Saturday night but man about town and boss man a Root Magazine Godfrey Hope.
†2. Especially common in the phrase a clock = of the clock, o'clock. Obs.
c1450Wills and Inv. Bury St. Edm. 17 At vii of the clokke. 1480Plumpton Corr. 40 Uppon Munday by viii a clocke. 1593T. Fale Art of Dialling A. 3. The Meridian and twelve a clock line are all one. 1598B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. (1616) i. iv. 14 It's sixe a clocke: I should ha' carried two turnes, by this. 1665Boyle Occ. Refl. vi. xv. 254 (1675) To know what a Clock it was. 1713Derham Physico-Theol. 18 note, Sea-Breezes commonly rise in the Morning about Nine a Clock. 1741Amherst Terræ Filius I. 3 Coming into college at ten or eleven a clock at night.
†3. After manner, kind, sort, etc. a, orig. the ‘indef. article,’ was taken as = of. Orig. what manner was in the genitive relation, thus: what manner a man? cujusmodi homo? what manner men? cujusmodi homines? By being taken as = of, a was first extended to the plural, as ‘what manner a men?’ and then changed to of, as in the mod. ‘what manner of men?’ which no longer answers to cujusmodi homines? but to qui modus hominum? The dialects retain the original ‘kind a’ as kinda, kinder. Obs. See further s.v. manner n.1 9.
1388Wyclif Judg. viii. 18 What maner men weren thei [1382 What weren the men] that ȝe killiden in Thabor [ 1611What maner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?]. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. lxxv. 96 Ther abode alyue no maner a person. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. vi. 33. 17 a, We know what maner a one that is. 1592R. Hyrde tr. Vives' Instr. Christ. Woman G iij, What maner a ones they shoulde be, S. Peter, & S. Paule,..teach.
▪ IX. † a, prep.3 Obs.
In phr. a þe, a later form of OE. oððe = oð until + þe that, whereby a came to represent OE. oð till.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 5 Þus ha hine hereden a þe he rad in et þan est ȝete. Ibid. 45 Ic ham ȝeue reste{ddd}from non on saterdei a þa cume monedeis lihting.
▪ X. † a, conj. Obs.
A form apparently occurring occasionally before a consonant for an = and, if. In some cases, if not all, the correct MS. reading may be ā, compendium for an.
1. = And.
c1280Fall & Passion in E.E.P. (1862) 13 Seue daies a seue niȝt . vte of heuen hi aliȝt..an in to hellë wer iþrow. c1400Apol. for Lollards 56 He þat lettiþ not silk ȝeuing, wen he is holden a may, is strenid by þe same gilt. c1450Morte Arth. (Roxb. Cl.) 91 Wendyth home a leue youre werryeng.
2. = and, an', if.
c1450Morte Arth. (Roxb. Cl.) 91 And yit a thow woldyst nyghe me nye, Thow shalt wele wete I am not slayn.
▪ XI. † a, int.
Obs. or dial. form of O int. and ah int.
1. (In northern and early southern Eng.) O! (for which ā! eh! |ɛː, eː| is still the ordinary northern form) of invocation, surprise, admiration.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 45 A! hwi wepest þou, Paul? c1340Hampole Pr. Tr. 1 A, a! that wondyrful name! A! that delittable name! ― Pr. Consc. 481 For when it es born it cryes swa: If it be man it says ‘a.a.’ And if þe child a woman be, When it es born it says ‘e.e.’ c1460Townley Myst. 109 A, Gylle! what chere?
2. (In later southern Eng.) Ah! of pain, grief, aversion.
c1305E.E.P. 58 A beau frere quaþ þis oþer: strong is þi misdede. 1340Ayenb. 92 A God hou hi byeþ foles and more þanne a best. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 220 He bleynte and cryed, a! As that he stongen were vnto the herte. c1400Apol. for Lollards 30 A ȝe vniust prestis, þorow ȝour bidding þe prest of God stintiþ þe office of blessing. 1485Caxton Paris & Vienne (1868) 28 A Veray God! I am wel dyscomforted.
3. Prefixed to proper names as a war-cry, as A Warwick! Modern writers treat it as the ‘indefinite article’.
c1450Merlin (1866) ii. 287 Than thei cried a Clarance with a lowde voyse. 1808Scott Marm. vi. xxvii. The Border slogan rent the sky: A Home! a Gordon! was the cry.
4. Appended to lines ‘in burlesque poetry, to lengthen out a syllable, without adding to the sense.’ J. Not originally burlesque, but probably originating in the necessary retention of the ME. final -e where wanted for measure, the origin of which being forgotten, it was treated as an addition of ă. Thus ME. sonne—yronne, would be treated as sun a!—run a!
Hence prob. the modern ballad and lyrical O! (which is not burlesque) as in ‘My Nannie, O.’
1567Triall of Treasure (1850) 33 Wherein I doe delight, a;{ddd}To liue still in such plighte, a. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iii. 133 And merrily hent the Stile-a..Your sad tyres in a Mile-a.
▪ XII. † a, a-, particle|ə|
prefixed to the pa. pple. and occasionally to other parts of the verb, = earlier ȝe- [Ger. ge-, Goth. ga-, together, altogether, completely], which in OE. was sparingly used as a prefix to the pple. (more commonly making a compound verb), but in 2–4 became, as ȝe-, y-, i-, the regular sign of the pa. pple. in the south, as y-come, i-don, i-sen, y-ben, i-ben, i-be, etc. The toneless |ɪ| afterwards sank into |ə|, as it is still pronounced in the south-western dialects, and was frequently written a distinct, or a- joined, in 14–16th c. As many verbs had also a derivative form in a- in OE. (as wake awake, rise arise), and many others were formed after them in ME., it is not always easy to say whether a pa. pple. in a- is to be referred to the simple verb, or to a derivative verb in a-, of which no other part is known. So in mod.G. ge-standen may be pa. pple. of stehen, or of ge-stehen. See i-, y-.
c1270Owl & Night. 1602, Ah thu me havest sore i-gramed That min heorte is wel neh a-lamed. c1400Tundale's Vis. 700 Then seyd Tundale ablissyd be thou. 1458Domest. Arch. (Abingdon MS.) iii. 42 Chees & chekenes clerelych a dyght. 1684Bunyan Pilg. ii. 70 The Highways have a been un-occupied heretofore. 1859W. Barnes Hwomely Rhymes (Dorset dial.) 61 An' we have all a-left the spot, To teäke, a-scatter'd, each his lot. |