अ a. With the suffix अ a is made an immensely large and heterogeneous body of derivatives, of various meaning and showing various treatment of the root: guṇa-strengthening,vṛddhi-strengthening, retention unchanged, and reduplication.

In good part, they are classifiable under the two usual general heads; but in part they have been individualized into more special senses.

1. a. With guṇa-strengthening of the root (where that is possible: 235, 240). These are the great majority, being more than twice as numerous as all others together.

b. Many nomina actionis: as, çráma weariness, gráha seizure, áya movement, véda knowledge, háva call, kródha wrath, jóṣa enjoyment, tára crossing, sárga emission.

C. Many nomina agentis: as, kṣamá patient, svajá constrictor, jīvá living, meghá cloud, codá inciting, plavá boat, sará brook, sarpá serpent, bhojá generous, khādá devouring.

d. Of the examples here given, those under b accent the radical syllable, and those under c the ending. And this is in perhaps a majority of cases the fact as regards the two classes of derivatives; so that, taken in connection with kindred facts as to other suffixes, it hints at such a difference of accent as a general tendency of the language. A few sporadic instances are met with of the same form having the one or the other value according to its accent: thus, éṣa haste, eṣá hasting; çā́sa order, çāsá orderer (other examples are coda, çāka, çoka: compare a similar difference with other derivatives in as, ana, an, man). But exceptions are numerous — thus, for example, jayá, javá, smará, action-nouns; çráva, mógha, stáva, agent-nouns — and the subject calls for a much wider and deeper investigation than it has yet received, before the accentuation referred to can be set up as a law of the language in derivation.

2. e. With vṛddhi-strengthening of the root — but only where ā is the resulting radical vowel: that is, of medial a, and of final ṛ (most often), u or ū, i or ī (rare).

f. Examples of action-nouns are: kā́ma love, bhāgá share, nādá noise, dāvá fire, tārá crossing. Very few forms of clear derivation and meaning are quotable with accent on the root-syllable.

g. Examples of agent-nouns are: grābhá seizing, vāhá carrying, nāyá leading, jārá lover.

3. h. With unstrengthened root, the examples are few: e. g. kṛçá lean, turá rapid, yugá yoke, sruvá spoon, priyá dear, vrá troop, çucá bright.

i. A number of words of this class, especially as occurring in composition, are doubtless results of the transfer of root-stems to the a-declension: e. g. -ghuṣa, -sphura, -tuda, -dṛça, -vida, -kira.

j. A few a-stems are made, especially in the older language, from conjugation-stems, mostly causative: thus, -āmaya, ilaya, -in̄khaya, -ejaya, -dhāraya, -pāraya, -mṛḍaya, -çamaya (compare the ā-stems, 1149 c,d); also desiderative, as bībhatsa (compare 1038). Occasional examples also occur from tense-stems: thus, from nu-stems, or secondary stems made from such, hinvá, -inva, -jinva, -pinva, -sinva, -sunva, -açnuva; from others, -pṛṇa, -mṛṇa, -stṛṇa, -puna, -jāna, -paçya, -manya, -dasya, -jurya, -kṣudhya, -sya, -tiṣṭha, -jighra, -piba; from future-stems, kariṣya (JB.), janiṣya, bhaviṣya, ruciṣya (?); apparently from aorist-stems, jeṣá, néṣa-, parṣá, pṛkṣá (?), -hoṣa.

4. k. Derivatives in a from a reduplicated root-form are a considerable class, mostly occurring in the older language. They are sometimes made with a simple reduplication: thus, cacará,cikita, dṛdhrá, dadhṛṣá, babhasa, -babhra, vavrá, çiçayá, çiçnátha (an action-noun), sasrá; but oftener with an intensive reduplication: thus, merely strengthened, cākṣmá, -cācala, jāgara, nānada, lālasa, vīvadhá (?), -memiṣa, rerihá and leliha, vevijá, nonuva, momughá, -roruda, lolupa; with consonant added, -can̄kaça-, -can̄krama,jan̄gama, cañcala, -jañjapa, dandhvana, -nannama, -jarjalpa, jarjara, -tartura, -dardira, múrmura, gadgada; dissyllabic, -karikra, kanikradá, carācará andcalācalá, marīmṛçá, malimlucá, varīvṛtá, sarīsṛpá, paniṣpadá, saniṣyadá, sanisrasá, patāpata, madāmada, -vadāvada, ghanāghaná. Many of these are to be regarded as from an intensive conjugation-stem; but some of them show a form not met with in intensive conjugation.

5. l. Derivatives with this suffix from roots as compounded with the verbal prefixes are quite common, in all the modes of formation (in each, in proportion to the frequency of independent words): constituting, in fact, considerably the largest body of derivative stems with prefixes. They are of both classes as to meaning. The accent is, with few exceptions, on the ending — and that, without any reference to the value of the stem as action-noun or agent-noun.

m. Examples are: saṁgamá assembly, nimeṣá wink, abhidrohá enmity, anukará assistance, udāná inspiration, pratyāçrāvá response; — paricará wandering, saṁjayávictorious, vibodhá wakeful, atiyājá over-pious, udārá inciting, elevated, uttudá rousing, saṁgirá swallowing, ādardirá crushing, adhican̄kramá climbing.

n. The only definite class of exceptions in regard to accent appears to be that of the adverbial gerunds in am (above, 995), which are accented on the root-syllable. A very few other stems have the same tone: for example, utpā́ta portent, āçréṣa plague. A few others, mostly agent-nouns, have the accent on the prefix: for example, vyòṣa (i. e. ví-oṣa) burning,prátiveça neighbor, ā́bhaga sharing; but also sáṁkāça appearance.

o. For the remaining compounds of these derivatives, with the inseparable prefixes and with other elements, see the next chapter. It may be merely mentioned here that such compounds are numerous, and that the a-derivative has often an active participial value, and is frequently preceded by a case-form, oftenest the accusative.

p. Many words in the language appear to end with a suffix a, while yet they are referable to no root which can be otherwise demonstrated as such.