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	The letter '''A''' is the first letter in the ].

	==History==

	The letter A probably started as a ] of an ] head in ]s or the ].


	By ], the ]s had given the letter a linear form that served as the basis for all later forms. Its name must have corresponded closely to the ] ].

	When the ] adopted the alphabet, they had no use for the ] that the letter had denoted in Phoenician and other ], so they used the sign for the vowel /a/, and changed its name to ]. In the earliest Greek inscriptions, dating to the ], the letter rests upon its side, but in the ] of later times it generally resembles the modern capital letter, although many local varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg, or by the angle at which the cross line is set.

	The ] brought the Greek alphabet to what is now ] and left the letter unchanged. The Romans later adopted the ] to write ], and the resulting letter was preserved in the modern ] used to write many languages, including ].

	==Typography==

	The modern lowercase letter a derives from Greek handwriting, which evolved from a form similar to the current capital to a circular shape with a projection by the ].

	{\| align="center" cellspacing="10"
	\|- align="center"
	\|]<br />] A
	\|]<br />] A
	\|]
	\|- align="center"
	\|]<br />Modern Roman A
	\|]<br />Modern Italic A
	\|]<br />Modern Script A
	\|}

	==Usage==

	In ], the letter A by itself usually denotes the ] (IPA /æ/), as in ''pad'', the ] (IPA /ɑ/) or, in concert with a later ], the diphthong (though the actual pronunciation depends on the dialect), as in ''ace'', due to effects of the ].

	In most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, the letter a denotes either a ] (IPA /a/), or an ] (IPA /ɑ/).

	In the ], variants of the letter A denote various ]s. In ], capital A denotes the ] and lowercase a denotes the ].

	==Alternate representations==

	'''Alpha''' represents the letter A in the ].

	In ] the letter A is DitDah: <tt>· -</tt>

	In ] the letter A is represented as <big>⠁</big> (in ]), the dot pattern:
	<pre>
	X.
	..
	..
	</pre>

	===Computing===
	In ] the ] A is codepoint U+0041 and the ] a is U+0061.

	The ] code for capital A is 65 and for lowercase a is 97; or in ] 01000001 and 01100001, correspondingly.

	The ] code for capital A is 193 and for lowercase a is 129.

	The ]s in ] and ] are "<tt>&#65;</tt>" and "<tt>&#97;</tt>" for upper and lower case respectively.

	==Meanings for '''A'''==
	* In ], the ] are often simply referred to as the "'''A's'''".
	* In ], A is the symbol for ] and ].
	* In ]s, A is often an abbreviation for the ]s ] and ].
	* In ],
	** <tt><a></tt> is the ].
	** A sometimes represents the set of all alphabetic characters within ] patterns.
	* In ], a ] of '''A''' typically represents the highest score that students can achieve. (sometimes coupled with a ]/minus sign - i.e., '''A+''' or '''A-''', or a number - e.g., '''A1''')
	* In ],
	** ] is a standard size of ].
	** A refers to the Anode, or filament, component of a ].
	* In ], ''A'' is an Italian film made in ]; see '']''.
	* In ] ], A is the ] for ].
	* In ], the word "a" is an indefinite ], see ]
	* In ], a- is a ] (''alpha privativum'') meaning "not" or "devoid of", used in many borrowed words in ], ] and ].
	* In ], A stands for ].
	* In ], A is a series of sizes with an aspect ratio of roughly 70% width to height, with A4 being an example popular size.
	* In ],
	**the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form "all x is y". The letters I, E and O are used respectively for the particular affirmative "some x is y", the universal negative "no x is y", and the particular negative "some x is not y". The use of these letters is generally derived from the vowels of the two ] ]s ''affirmo'' (or AIo), "I assert", and ''nego'', "I deny". The use of the symbols dates from the ], though some authorities trace their origin to the Greek logicians.
	**In ], the symbol ∀ (an inverted letter A) is the ].
	* In ],
	**A is often used as a ] meaning '']'' in ] and other positional ]s with a ] of 11 or greater,
	**] <math>\mathbb{A}</math> (𝔄 in ]) sometimes represents the ].
	* In ], A is one of the human ]s.
	* In the ],
	** A is the symbol for the ] or amp, the ] of ].
	** a, ], is the ] meaning 10<sup>-18</sup>
	** a is the symbol for the ], a unit of surface area equal to 100 square ]s.
	* In ],
	** A is a ].
	** A, or "side A", refers to the top or first side of a ].
	** ''A'' is an album by ]; see '']''.
	** ''A'' is a ] rock band; see '']''.
	* In a deck of ]s, the letter A is used to mark each of the ]s.
	* In ], a circumscribed "A" is an ].
	* As a ], A is the military designation for UTC+1, also known as CET or ].

	== See also ==

	], ], <big>]</big>, ], ], ], ], ] (Ae), ] (Aa), ], ] ]

	] starting with A:
	*] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

	Letter-digit combinations starting with A:
	*] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

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Revision as of 22:11, 6 January 2005