a, n.m., the first letter of the alphabet, a. Panse d’a; oval of an a. Il ne sait ni a ni b; he does not know a from b. Il n’a pas fait une panse d’a; he has not done a letter, a stroke. Un homme marqué à l’a; the beau-ideal of a man, a man thoroughly reliable. C’est un homme marqué à l’a; he is the soul of honor.
a (ab.), Altesse; Highness.
aa (ab.), Altesses; Highnesses.
a, at the beginning of French words, often comes from the privative α of the Greeks, and denotes privation; as, atonie, debility; acéphale, acephalous.
à, prep., denotes the end or term of the action of the verb, and indicates the person or thing this action tends to. Aller à Paris; to go to Paris. Parler à quelqu’un; to speak to some one.
à denotes extraction, separation. Oter une bague à quelqu’un; to take a ring from any one. Se soustraire aux poursuites de la justice; to abscond.
à denotes property, possession. Cette montre est à mon frère; this watch is my brother’s. Il a un style, une manière, à lui; he has a style, a manner, all his own. Cette ferme appartient à mon père; that farm belongs to my father.
à denotes period, time. Au lever du soleil; at sunrise. À l’aube du jour; at daybreak. Arriver à temps; to arrive in time. À mon retour; on my return.
à indicates what stops on the surface, or penetrates beyond it. Il a une bague au doigt; he has a ring on his finger. Blessé à l’épaule; wounded in the shoulder.
à establishes the relative distance between things and persons. À portée de canon; within cannon-shot. Il demeure à vingt lieues d’ici; he lives twenty leagues off. De vous à moi; between you and me, from you to me. De Paris à Rouen; from Paris to Rouen.