Where does “a-” come from?

a- (German) comes from Ancient Greek ἀ-, from Proto-Hellenic hə-, from Proto-Indo-European sm̥-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

a- (German): a- not, without, opposite of

Definitions

  1. a- not, without, opposite of

Ancestry of “a-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekἀ-The alpha privativum, used to make words that...
2Proto-Hellenichə-same; together
3Proto-Indo-Europeansm̥-one; with, together
4Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “a-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →Every word from Ancient Greek ἀ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European sm̥- →