Lat., ager; Goth., akr-s. The corresponding long ā occurs commonly in the oldest English, as in the other Indo-Germanic tongues, the history of its development into the modern speech, however, has been somewhat different, as it has passed over chiefly into an ō-sound. (See Phonetic Laws.)
As A Symbol. Standing at the head of the alphabet as a does, it is commonly used as a symbol to denote the first in order in a row or series. It is therefore so employed to denote one of the notes (la) in musical notation (q.v.); similarly in logic (q.v.) to denote the universal affirmative. In algebra (q.v.) the letters a, b, c are used to denote known quantities as opposed to a, y, z, the unknown quantities. In abstract reasonings and hypotheses, A, B, C are likewise employed as convenient designations for particular persons and things. In writing and printing, the series a, b, c is commonly used for reference. In nautical matters, A1, A2, A3 are in common use to denote the class and quality of ships and similarly in business matters to indicate the commercial standing of a house. This usage has passed over into popular parlance, so that a person is sometimes spoken of as "A1" to indicate that he is a thoroughly reliable, "first-class" man. A stands also as the first of the Dominical Letters (q.v.).
In Grammatical Forms. This same letter is used in a number of phrases and grammatical forms in English. In some of these it is the mutilated form of a fuller word. The first use to be noted is its employment beside an as an indefinite article; both forms, a, an, are weakened from the A. S., ān, "one." In provincial dialects a ('a) appears as a pronominal form for he, etc.. as in quotha, "quoth he." Sometimes it thus stands for have. It appears as a preposition for A. S., en, with a verbal noun in certain old phrases, as a-hunting. a-building: also for A. S., of in Jack-a-lantern, John a Gaunt; and similarly as a prefix for A. S., on in asleep (A. S. on skepe) , aicay (A. S, on weg) , for off in adown (A. S. of dilne): again intensive in a-thirst (A. S. of-thirst) . It likewise stands for long a as a verbal prefix, arise (A. S. urisan) , awake, and in many other phrases. The charac- ter a is used in Swedish as a labialized guttural, like English 0. See Alphabet and Auurevia- TIONS.
A. As a note in music, the major sixth of the scale C major. See Ivey for A major and A minor.
A1. A symbol used in the classification of wooden ships by Lloyds Maritime Insurance Association. The designation follows as a result of examination of a ship by one of the Lloyds surveyors. The symbol Al denotes that hull and equipment of the ship in question are in good condition; the letter A standing for con- struction and the numeral 1 for equipment; wlien the latter is inadequate the figure 2 is used. Should the symbol be preceded l)y figures, thus, 12A], it means that the classification is good for 12 years. . vessels may receive further exten- sion of classification ( 1 to 8 years), and the symbol becomes I2-A1 Cont. (SAl, which means original 12 year class continued 6 years. If later restored it would still be possible to remain in Al class with the following symbol: 12.- Cont. GAl- Rest. fiAl. Wlicn a vessel has passed the age for the character A, but is still found fit for conveying perishable goods to all parts of the world, it is registered A in red. Ships designated A in black form the third class, and are allowed to carry perishable goods on shorter voyages.
In classifying iron ships a broad A is used with numbers prefixed, those ships classed 100^ to 00 y inclusive requiring to be sur- veyed every four years, and those classed 85^ and under requiring a special survey every three years. The numerals referring to equipment are the same as for wooden ships. In the classi- fication of the German Lloyds, Al refers to new wooden ships and repaired ships of equal quality; A denotes ships not equal to the for- mer class, but yet of superior construction; the terms BI, B, CL and CK denote those of inferior construction. Iron and steel ships are designated by the characters f^, Ji^, /^, with the numerals 100, 05, 90, etc.'prefi'xed '( 100 / for example), and referring to the structural strength. The number under the cross-arm of the / denotes the number of years that may elapse before the vessel must be resurveyed. An interesting account of the development of the methods of classification and surveying of the British Lloyds, as well as the history of the society itself, will be fomid in Annals of Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping (Lon- don, 1884). The rules for the building, equip- ment and classification of ships are not given in the annual Register of Shipping, but are pub- lished separately in four volumes, one for steel vessels, one for iron, one for wooden and com- posite, and one for yachts.
AA, ii. The name of a number of rivers and streams in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Rus- sia, and the north of France. As many as forty have been enumerated. The word is said to be of Celtic origin, but it is allied to the O. N. a, O. Ger. aha, Goth, ahra, identical with the Lat. aqua, "water." Ach or Aach is another form of the same word. Four streams of the name of Ach fall into the Lake of Constance. The word, in both forms, occurs as final syllable in many names of places, as Fulda (formerly Fuldaha), Biberach, Bieberich, etc. In the plural it is Aachen (waters, springs), which is the German name of Aix-la-Chapelle (q.v.). Aix, the French name of so many places con- nected with springs, is derived from Lat. AqMB, which became in O. F. Aiyiies and then Aim. Compare the Celtic Esk, Ex, Axe, Ouse.
AACHEN, ao'en. See Aix-la-Chapelle.
AAHMES. See Amasis.
AALBORG, al'boriv (Eel-town). A city of Denmark, capital of the Amt of Aalborg, in Jut- land, on the south shore of the Limfjord (Map: Denmark, 1). The town has a cathedral, a museum, and a library of 30.000 volumes. It is situated on one of the branches of the Danish State Railway, which liere cros.ses the Limfjord on an iron Inidge 990 feet long and 16 feet wide. The manufactures of the town are considerable, consisting cliicHy of brandy and spirits, cotton goods, dj'ed articles, cement, and lumber. There is an electric lighting plant. There is some ship- building and sea trade, the latter with England, Norwa,^', and Sweden, for the most part in vessels owned by citizens of the town. The harbor is too shallow for large vessels. Aalborg has long been an important commercial centre. It was plundered
