'a

'a

1. (archaic) Alternative form of a (“he, she, they”).

'a

1. (archaic) Alternative form of a (“have, had”).

'a

1. Alternative form of a (“to”).
   • 1955, Russell Ames, “The Open Road, the Chain Gang, and the Jail”, in The Story of American Folk Song (The Listener’s Music Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, published 1960, →OCLC, page 248:

     Say, these stripes, stripes sure don’t worry me. But these chains, chains goin’ ’a kill me dead.

   • 2009, Jennifer Worth, “The Captain’s Daughter”, in Farewell to the East End, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, →ISBN, page 237:

     Well, this one’s ’ere all right. Captain’s wife or somefink, the mate says. Least, that’s what I think he’s tryin’ ’a say, because he can’t speak no English.

   • 2014, R[oger] N. Morris, chapter 11, in The Dark Palace (A Silas Quinn Mystery; 3), Sutton, Surrey: Crème de la Crime, →ISBN, Part 1 (Love), page 50:

     So while we’re all distracted tryin’ ’a fix it all – that’s when they strike.

'a f sg

1. (Quebec, informal) contraction of la

• IPA^(key): [ʔā]
• Hyphenation: 'a

'a (plural 'a)

1. stomach

• Mairi Blackings; Nigel Fabb (2003), A Grammar of Ma'di, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, page 645

'a

1. fruit

'a

1. hair

'a

1. to fall, to tumble
2. to get caught (e.g. in a trap)
3. to lose (to fail to win)

• Robert A. Dooley (August 2016), “'a”, in Léxico guarani, dialeto mbyá: guarani-português (overall work in Portuguese), Anápolis: SIL Brasil, page 3

From Old Neapolitan la.

'a f (definite)

1. the

'a f

1. her (accusative)

From Old Neapolitan da, from Latin de ab.

• a

'a

1. from
2. by (indicating the actor in a passive voice)
3. to (something that has to be done)

• â
• 'o
• 'e
• ll'

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: 'a

From Proto-Tupi-Guarani *ʔa (“fruit, head”), from Proto-Tupian *ʔa (“fruit, head”).

Cognate with Sateré-Mawé 'a and Paraguayan Guarani 'a.

'a (possessable)

1. (chiefly in compounds) head (part of the body)

   Synonym: akanga

2. glans penis

   Synonym: 'ayîá

3. fruit

   Synonym: 'ybá

4. (vocative, in reverence) dude; bro term of address for a man
5. (vocative, in reverence) companion; comrade; term of address for a friend
6. (vocative, in reverence) sir; term of address for an old man

'a (first-person singular active indicative a'a, first-person singular negative active indicative n'a'aî, noun 'ara) (intransitive)

1. (São Vicente) apocopic form of 'ar.

• Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (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

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: 'a

'a

1. fall
2. fruit
3. egg

'a (intransitive, irregular)

1. to fall
2. to be born
3. to fructify
4. to like someone

• Canese, Natalia Krivoshein de; Alcaraz, Feliciano Acosta (2016), “'a”, in Ñe’ẽryru [Dictionary] (overall work in Spanish), Asunción: Instituto Superior de Lenguas, →ISBN, page 11, column 1

'a f sg (plural le)

1. the