Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “a-” come from?

a- (Old French) comes from Latin ad-, from Proto-Italic *ad-.

a- (Old French): indicating movement towards something;...

Definitions

  1. indicating movement towards something;...

Ancestry of “a-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
2Proto-Italic*ad-—

Words derived from “a-”

  • address
  • agree
  • arrangement
  • affair
  • attorney
  • addressing
  • bet
  • amusement
  • ascertain
  • amused
  • amusing
  • alignment
  • agreeing
  • attire
  • amuse
  • appalling
  • align
  • amenable
  • avenge
  • cater
  • rearrangement
  • addressee
  • aggrandizement
  • realignment
Every word from Proto-Italic *ad- →