Editing A (section)

== History ==
The earliest known ancestor of A is ''[[aleph]]''—the first letter of the [[Phoenician alphabet]]{{sfn|Hoiberg|2010|p=1}}—where it represented a [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, as Phoenician only used  [[consonant]]al letters. In turn, the ancestor of aleph may have been a [[pictogram]] of an ox head in [[proto-Sinaitic script]]{{sfn|Hall-Quest|1997|p=1}} influenced by [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]], styled as a triangular head with two horns extended.

When the [[ancient Greeks]] adopted the alphabet, they had no use for a letter representing a [[glottal stop]]—so they adapted the sign to represent the vowel {{IPAslink|a}}, calling the letter by the similar name ''[[alpha]]''. In the earliest Greek inscriptions dating to the 8th century&nbsp;BC following the [[Greek Dark Ages]], the letter rests upon its side. However, in the later [[Greek alphabet]] it generally resembles the modern capital form—though 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.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background-color:#EEE;text-align:center"
! scope="col" | Egyptian
! scope="col" | Proto-Sinaitic
! scope="col" | Proto-Canaanite
! scope="col" | Phoenician
! scope="col" | Western Greek
! scope="col" | Etruscan
! scope="col" | Latin
|- style="background-color:white;text-align:center"
| [[File:EgyptianA-01.svg|40px|Egyptian hieroglyphic ox head]]
| [[File:Proto-semiticA-01.svg|35px|Boeotian]]
| [[File:Protoalef.svg|35px|Semitic A, version 1]]
| [[File:PhoenicianA-01.svg|40px|Phoenician aleph]]
| [[File:Greek Alpha 03.svg|35px|Greek ''alpha'', version 1]]
| [[File:EtruscanA.svg|25px|Etruscan A, version 1]]
| [[File:Capitalis monumentalis A.svg|30px|Latin A]]
|}
=== Typographic variants ===
{{stack begin}}
[[File:A-small glyphs.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|upright=0.55|Different [[glyphs]] of the lowercase letter {{angbr|a}}]]
[[File:LowercaseA.svg|thumb|upright=0.55|[[Allograph]]s include a double-storey {{angbr|a}} and single-storey {{angbr|ɑ}}.]]
{{stack end}}
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. Variants also existed that were intermediate between the monumental and cursive styles. The known variants include the early [[semi-uncial]] ({{cx|3rd century}}), the uncial ({{cx|4th–8th centuries}}), and the late semi-uncial ({{cx|6th–8th centuries}}).{{sfn|Diringer|2000|p=1}}

{| cellspacing="8" cellpadding="0"
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[File:BlackletterA-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|Blackletter]][[Blackletter]]
|[[File:UncialA-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|Uncial A]] [[Uncial]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[File:ModernRomanA-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|64px|Modern Roman A]] Roman
|[[File:Modern Italic A.svg|class=skin-invert-image|64px|Modern Italic A]] Italic
|[[File:Modern Script A.svg|class=skin-invert-image|64px|Modern Script A]] Script
|}

At the end of the [[Roman Empire]] (5th century&nbsp;AD), several variants of the cursive minuscule developed through Western Europe. Among these were the semi-cursive minuscule of Italy, the [[Merovingian script]] in France, the [[Visigothic script]] in Spain, and the [[Insular script|Insular]] or Anglo-Irish semi-uncial or Anglo-Saxon majuscule of Great Britain. By the ninth century, the [[Caroline script]], which was very similar to the present-day form, was the principal form used in book-making, before the advent of the printing press. This form was derived through a combining of prior forms.{{sfn|Diringer|2000|p=1}}

[[File:Road sign on the R639 north of Urlingford, Ireland - 20090502.jpg|thumb|right|Road sign in Ireland showing the Irish "Latin alpha" form of {{angbr|a}} in lower and upper case forms]]
15th-century Italy saw the formation of the two main variants that are known today. These variants, the ''Italic'' and ''Roman'' forms, were derived from the Caroline Script version. The Italic form {{angbr|ɑ}}, also called ''script a'', is often used in [[handwriting]]; it consists of a circle with a vertical stroke on its right. In the hands of medieval Irish and English writers, this form gradually developed from a 5th-century form resembling the Greek letter [[tau]] {{angbr|τ}}.{{sfn|Hoiberg|2010|p=1}} The Roman form {{angbr|a}} is found in most printed material, and consists of a small loop with an arc over it.{{sfn|Diringer|2000|p=1}} Both derive from the majuscule form {{angbr|A}}. In Greek handwriting, it was common to join the left leg and horizontal stroke into a single loop, as demonstrated by the uncial version shown. Many fonts then made the right leg vertical. In some of these, the [[serif]] that began the right leg stroke developed into an arc, resulting in the printed form, while in others it was dropped, resulting in the modern handwritten form. Graphic designers refer to the ''Italic'' and ''Roman'' forms as ''single-decker a'' and ''double decker a'' respectively.

[[Italic type]] is commonly used to mark emphasis or more generally to distinguish one part of a text from the rest set in Roman type. There are some other cases aside from italic type where ''script a'' {{angbr|ɑ}}, also called ''[[Latin alpha]]'', is used in contrast with Latin {{angbr|a}}, such as in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]].