A , or a , is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] used in the modern English alphabet , and others worldwide. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha , from which it derives. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type.
In English, a is the indefinite article , with the alternative form an. Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. In turn, the ancestor of aleph may have been a pictogram of an ox head in proto-Sinaitic script [ 5 ] influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphs , styled as a triangular head with two horns extended. In the earliest Greek inscriptions dating to the 8th century BC following the Greek Dark Ages , the letter rests upon its side.
However, in the later Greek alphabet it generally resembles the modern capital formβthough many local varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg, or by the angle at which the cross line is set. The Etruscans brought the Greek alphabet to the Italian Peninsula , and left the form of alpha unchanged. When the Romans adopted the Etruscan alphabet to write Latin , the resulting form used in the Latin script would come to be used to write many other languages, including English.
During Roman times, there were many variant forms of the letter A. First was the monumental or lapidary style, which was used when inscribing on stone or other more permanent media. There was also a cursive style used for everyday or utilitarian writing, which was done on more perishable surfaces.
Due to the perishable nature of these surfaces, there are not as many examples of this style as there are of the monumental, but there are still many surviving examples of different types of cursive, such as majuscule cursive, minuscule cursive, and semi-cursive minuscule.
