A common prefix in words derived from Latin or French; e.g., probleme, processionarie, progenitour, pronosticacioun, propugnacle, prosperite, provincial (nouns); profounde, prolixe, propicious,……
From early ME a prep., derived from unstressed an before nouns, adjs., and advs. beginning with a consonant [OE on, an]. (a) Orig. noun phrases: a-beggeþ, a-bedde, a-blode, a-clokke, a-dai(es,……
