a

Meanings

1. 1
   det

   used before a noun to refer to one person or thing that is not specific or not already known

   I bought a book at the store.

2. 2
   noun

   the first letter of the English alphabet

   The word "apple" begins with an A.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-West Germanic *ain Old English ān Middle English an Middle English a English a From Middle English a, an, from Old English ān (“one; a; lone; sole”). More at one. The "n" was gradually lost before consonants in almost all dialects by the 15th century. Cognate with Alemannic German a (“a, an”), East Franconian a (“a, an”).

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