-a1
/ə/suffix
Forming:
1Ancient or Latinized modern names of animals and plants: primula
2Names of oxides: baryta
3Geographical names: Africa
4Ancient or Latinized modern feminine forenames: Lydia
5Nouns from Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish: duenna stanza
Origin
Representing a Greek, Latin, or Romance feminine singular.
-a2
/ə/suffix
Forming plural nouns:
1From Greek or Latin neuter plurals corresponding to a singular in -um or -on (such as addenda, phenomena).
2In names (often from modern Latin) of zoological groups: Insectivora
-a3
/ə/suffix informal
1Of: coupla
2Have: mighta
3To: oughta
Origin
Representing a casual pronunciation.