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a

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Pronunciation

Forms

a (before a vowel, especially a, also ad).[2][3] With the definite article it forms al, allo, alla, ai (old a’), agli, alle; old and literary texts also write a 'l, a lo.[4][3][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ad (“to, towards; near”).[6][7][8][1][9] Before a vowel the form “ad” is kept, and the preposition is the same as the prefix a- that doubles the following consonant (“accanto”, “appunto”).[7][5]

Some uses continue other Latin words that fell together with it.[10][11] About the 6th century “ad” and ā (“from, by”) came to sound the same, and the Old Italian “a” of separation and of the agent (“a femmina astenere” “abstain from woman”, Guittone) is from “ab”; this use dies out after Dante.[11][12][10] The “a” of “diciassette” “seventeen”, tutt'a due“ “both”, ”insieme a“ and ”vattel'a pesca “who knows” continues ac (“and”).[13][12][10] Other uses were borrowed from French rather than inherited, as in names of dishes (“maccheroni al sugo”), in “il fratello al re” “the king's brother”, and in “aver a fare”.[12][9]

The same preposition is French à, Occitan a, Catalan a, Spanish a, Portuguese a, Sardinian a and Romanian a.[7] Everywhere except in Romanian it took over the functions of the Latin dative; in Latin a phrase with “ad” was already replacing the dative in the first centuries of the Empire.[10][9]

Latin “ad” continues Proto-Italic *ad, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ed (“to”).[14] It is related to Oscan az, Umbrian ař-, Old Irish ad-, Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at) and English at.[7][14] DEI notes that it is lacking in the other Indo-European languages, Greek using Ancient Greek πρός (prós).[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the preposition to the early 9th century.[7] It appears in the graffito of the Commodilla catacomb in Rome in the phrase a bboce “aloud”, with the doubling of the following consonant.[2][15] DELI's first literary record is the Ritmo laurenziano of the late 12th century, and GRADIT dates it to about 1200.[6][8]

Semantic evolution

Place, both rest (essere a casa) and motion (andare a Roma), and time were already expressed by Latin ad; the modal, instrumental and causal uses also go back to Latin.[9] Italian a with an infinitive replaced the Latin gerund in conditional, final, temporal and causal clauses (a dire il vero, andare a vedere).[9] In the Iberian languages, Sardinian, Engadine, part of central Italy and the south, a also marks a personal direct object (southern vedo a te), which Rohlfs explained by the need to tell subject and object apart.[9]

Leave-takings are formed with a: addio is recorded from Dante, and a dopo “see you later” is used in parting.[8] DEI takes the a of dishes such as maccheroni al sugo to follow a French pattern.[12]

Timeline

  • 9th century – A bboce “aloud” in the Commodilla catacomb inscription.[2][15]
  • Late 12th century – The preposition appears in the Ritmo laurenziano.[6]
  • 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses a for a point in time.[9]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses a for “from”, from Latin ab.[11][12]
  • About 1319 – Addio is recorded in Dante.[9]
  • 1873 – Vattel'a pesca “who knows” is recorded in Guerrazzi.[13]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. to, towards: motion to a place: andare al mare, tornare a casa.[8][4][16]
  2. at, in: position in a place, and distance: vivere a Napoli, a due passi da qui.[8][3]
  3. At, in: a point in time; an age: a mezzanotte, a vent'anni.[8]
  4. With da, “from … to”: da lunedì a venerdì.[8][4]
  5. To: the indirect object: Ho scritto a mia nonna.[8][3][1]
  6. Manner or means: a piedi, fatto a mano.[1][17]
  7. With, flavoured with: ingredients of a dish: risotto ai funghi.[1][12]
  8. Price, rate and measure: a tre euro il chilo, a cento all'ora.[17]
  9. With an infinitive, purpose and other clauses: Vado a prendere il pane.[18][9]
  10. In leave-takings, until: a domani!, a presto!.[1][8]

Word family

Usage notes

Ad is now used mainly before a word beginning with a and in fixed phrases (ad esempio, ad eccezione di).[2][3] The preposition causes the doubling of the following consonant in pronunciation written in compounds such as affatto and appunto.[5][16] The same spelling is the name of the letter a (feminine or masculine), recorded from the 12th–13th century, and was an obsolete preposition meaning “from”.[6][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  6. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 593
  10. ^ a b c d Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ a b c Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 1
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1
  13. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 225
  14. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  15. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  17. ^ a b Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  18. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli