Where does “-a” come from?

-a (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic -ō, from Proto-Germanic -ô, from Proto-Indo-European -ō — Derives nouns from roots.

-a (Old English): Ending forming adverbs; nominative masculine...

Definitions

  1. Ending forming adverbs; nominative masculine...

Ancestry of “-a”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanic-ōCreates feminine nouns from roots and stems
2Proto-Germanic-ô-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
3Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots

Words derived from “-a”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ō →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ô →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ō →