AE N28 THE NATIONAL CYCLOPÆDIA OP USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. hat. A. AALBORGS AMT. A. the first letter of the alphabet in the Eng-That an and not a is the primitive form of the lish language, and in many others. As a sound, article, is proved by the Anglo-Saxon an and its power in English is at least fourfold, as in the the German ein; indeed our own numeral one is words father, call, tame, and hat. The first of only another and fuller form of the same word. these sounds is that which generally prevails in In such phrases as three shillings a pound, the other languages. The modified pronunciation of article evidently has this meaning. The double the vowel in tame is partly due to the vowel e at shape of our article has led to a corrupt mode of the end of the word; call and similar forms, writing certain words; thus from an eft was dethe peculiarity arises from the letter ; so that duced a neft, a newt. The letter a often appears the only true sounds of the vowel are perhaps prefixed to nouns so as to constitute a kind of the long sound in father, and the short one in adverb, as afoot, aside, aboard, now-a-days, &c. These, as Horne Tooke observes, are all abbreviations of on fote, on syde, on borde, now-ondaies, &c., which thus occur in our old English poets. This on is an Anglo-Saxon preposition with the meaning of in. In many words now in 1, A is readily interchanged with o. This is use, the a in the beginning takes the place of on. common between the German and English, as Alive, for instance, means on life, i. e. in life. kalt, cold; alt, old; falt, fold. 2, A is also So he fell asleep,' in the old translation of the interchanged with e. Thus the Romans generally New Testament is, he fell on sleep. The a forsubstituted an a in those German names which merly often prefixed to our participles in ing, both now begin with e, as Albis, Elbe; Amisia, Ems. in the active and passive sense, as the house is 3, A is interchangeable with i. This is limited a-preparing, he is gone a-walking, has the same to the short vowels, as in the Greek negative origin. prefix contrasted with the Latin in, and the Latin sine with the French sans. The letter a is the most easily pronounced of the vowels, requiring neither the retraction of the lips like (=ee in feet), nor their propulsion as in a (=00). AA, the name of several small rivers, five of [See I.] which belong to Germany, five to Switzerland, 4,4 is interchangeable with o. [See 0. 5. A three to Flanders, one to Russia in Europe, and is interchangeable with a, as in the Latin lact, one to France. lactuca, factus, fames, panis, compared with the largest of these rivers, belongs to the department French lait, laitue, fait, faim, gain. So the Latin of the Pas-de-Calais. [PAS-DE-CALAIS.] amas, anamus, amatis, are contracted from amais, The French Aa, one of the AACH, the name of a small river and a amaimus, amaitis. 6, Ae is interchangeable with small town in the grand duchy of Baden. The , as the ablative of tive ama from amae. river, and has between 500 and 600 inhabitants. The river falls into the Bodensee, or Lake of AACHEN, the German name of AIX-LA AALBORG, the principal town of Aalborgs A (in Music). [DIATONIC; GAMUT; SCALE.] A or AN, the Indefinite Article. A is used Constance. before a consonant, an before a vowel. Thus we say an emperor, a king. Sometimes a virtual CHAPELLE. consonant exists at the beginning of a word without being written, as in union and once, which Amt, in North Jutland, is situated on the south are pronounced with the initial sounds of y and side of the channel of the Lümfiord, in 57° 5′ , younion and unce. Before such words it is N. lat., 9° 55' E. long. The harbour admits customary to drop the final letter of the article, at, vessels drawing ten feet of water, and has a conleast in pronunciation, and there can be no good siderable trade in grain and herrings. The town reason for not writing a union, a once beloved is the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral. The monarch. On the other hand, whenever h is population is from 7500 to 8000. Aalborg means mute, we should retain the n both in writing and Eel-Town. speaking; thus, a history, but an historical work.| VOL. I. AALBORGS AMT, the most northern of the B |