Where does “a-” come from?
a- (Finnish) comes from Ancient Greek ἀ-, from Proto-Hellenic hə-, from Proto-Indo-European sm̥-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.
a- (Finnish): non-, un-
Ancestry of “a-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | ἀ- | The alpha privativum, used to make words that... |
| 2 | Proto-Hellenic | hə- | same; together |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | sm̥- | one; with, together |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |