Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/27



A, a, the first letter in the English alphabet, as in those of all the modern Indo-European tongues. The Latin alphabet also commences with a, and the Greek with a similar letter, alpha. In Sanscrit the vowels are classified by grammarians separately from the consonants. The vowels are placed first, and two sounds of a, the first a very short one, intermediate between ă and ŭ, as in the word Veda, and the other long, as in the first syllable of Brahman, head the list. In the Semitic, also, more accurately called the Syro-Arabian, family of languages, a letter with the a sound stands first in order. Thus the Hebrew alphabet commences with A (Aleph), followed in succession by B (Beth), C (Gimel), D (Daleth), designations which at once suggest the names of the Greek letters Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta. The old Hebrew, the Aramæan, and the Greek letters seem to have come from the Phœnician, a Syro-Arabian tongue. The Phœnician letters, again, as Gesenius suggests, may have been derived from the Egyptian hieroglyphics.

A as an initial is used:


 * 1) In chronology, for Anno (Lat.)=in the year, as A. D., Anno Domini=in the year of our Lord; A. U. C., Anno urbis conditæ=in the year of the city founded—i. e., from the foundation of the city (Rome)=753 B. C. (Varro).
 * 2) In horology, for the Lat. prep. ante=before, as a. m. (ante meridiem)=before noon.
 * 3) In designating university degrees, for Artium, as A. M. (Lat.), or M. A. (Eng.), Artium Magister=Master of Arts; A. B. (Lat.), or B. A. (Eng.), Artium Baccalaureus=Bachelor of Arts.
 * 4) In music, for alto, as S. A. T. B.=soprano, alto, tenor, bass.
 * 5) In nautical language, for able.  Thus, A. B.=able-bodied seaman.
 * 6) In commerce, for accepted, and is used specially of bills.

A as a symbol stands for:

 AACHEN. See.  AALBORG, one of the most ancient cities of Denmark, the capital of the district of the same name, in Jutland, on the Limfjord and on the Danish State railway. It is the seat of a bishop and has a cathedral, a museum, a library, and schools. It is important as a commercial and manufacturing center. Pop. about 35,000.  AAR (är), the most considerable river in Switzerland, after the Rhine and Rhone. It forms at Handeck, in the valley of Hasli, a magnificent waterfall of above 150 feet in height, and empties into the Rhine, opposite Waldshut, after a course of about 170 miles.  AARAU (ä′rou), a town in Switzerland, capital of the canton of Aargau, on the right bank of the Aar. Has manufactures of scientific instruments, silk, cotton, leather, and bells, a library, and historic, scientific, and ethnographic museums. Here, in December, 1797, the ancient Swiss confederacy held its last session; from April to September, 1798, it was capital of the Helvetic republic. Pop. about 10,000.  AARD-VARK, the orycteropus capensis, an insectivorous animal which partakes of the nature both of the ant-eater and the armadillo; agreeing with the former in its general habits, but, 
 * 1) In logic, a universal affirmative.
 * 2) In music, the 6th note of the diatonic scale of C major corresponding to the la of the Italians and the French.
 * 3) In heraldry, the chief in an escutcheon.
 * 4) In nautical language, A-1=a vessel of the first class, excellently built.  Figuratively, anything highly excellent; the best of its class.
 * 5) In mathematics, A and the other letters of the alphabet are used, e. g., in Euclid, to represent lines, angles, points, etc.  In algebra, a and the other first letters of the alphabet are used to express known quantities, and the last letter to express such as are unknown.