I’m delighted to find a new source for the “a-” prefix. This one is from French à l’herte, on the lookout.
“alert, adj. and n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
I am surprised to see this word classed as archaic by the OED, but it’s their call. This interjection expressing grief is related to the word “lassitude” and the obsolete “a-” interjection particle indicates admiration, surprise, or invocation.
“a, int.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“alas, int. and n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar. This word is only used once in our text, at the crucial spot where Bilbo escapes the goblin mountain by squeezing through the door left slightly ajar. The “a-” is preposition 1, expressing being in a situation. But what situation? “On char” is an obsolete way of saying “in the act of turning or shutting” but not yet shut. From “char” we get “chore” – an occasional turn of work.
“a, prep.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“ajar, adv.1 and adj.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“chare | char, n.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
It’s an adverb, “freshly” and we have a new “a-” to add to our understanding. “A-” prefix 4 is a reduced form of “of-” prefix, indicating “of, from, off, or away”. I suggest in this case it is “of” as in “of freshness”.
“a-, prefix4.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“afresh, adv.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“A-” preposition 1 strikes again, a reduced form of “on foot” – a phrase still very much in use – and indicating a situation in the middle of. I can picture a member of the infantry from any century in human history, just being in the middle of the foot situation, no way out but through.
“a, prep.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“afoot, adv. and adj.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
The only things afloat in The Hobbit are the barrels which carried Thorin and Company out of bond. It comes from “on float” with a reduction of the first element in the “a-” preposition1 sense: expressing a position within a situation, just as in “afire”.
“afloat, adj. and adv.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
This is the “a-” preposition 1, forming a prepositional phrase “on fire” indicating being in a situation of fire. It’s not to be confused with “a-” prefix 1, but could be parallel to “a-” prefix 3 with the sense of on or onto. Bless. I’m starting to get the hang of this.
“a-, prefix3.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“a, prep.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“afire, adv. and adj.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I saw “accursed” used as an example a few words ago. It could be “a-” prefix 1, the unemphasized form of “on-“, implying motion onward and therefore adding intensity – Old English “oncursie”. It could be an occurrence of “a-” prefix 3, the unemphasized form of a completely different preposition spelled “on-” which formed verbs, adverbs, and prepositions with the meaning “onto”. Or… in classical Latin, the “ad-” prefix before C or QU changed to “ac-” for mouth-ease reasons, as in accumulare. The doubling of the C was applied to a number of words beginning with the sound regardless of the word’s origin.
We do have “bless” in a previous entry, so I’m pleased to see a form of “curse” here as well. I wonder about the two different ways we saw “bless” used. Does Thorin describe Mirkwood as “accursed” because he needs a good cuss-word with which to show his contempt of the place? Or does he shudder and mop his brow and shift his eyes and feel the cold influence of the Necromancer?
“a-, prefix1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“a-, prefix3.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“ac-, prefix.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“accurse, v.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
“accursed, adj. and n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
The “a-” is an unstressed form of “of” and the word has been a regular member of the English lexicon since the 1200s.
“afar, adv.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
Classical Latin again for this instance of initial a – it’s “ad + ordain”, to put the ornaments on an object.
“adorn, v.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
words that you were saying 