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The line over the letter a is there to assist with the translation of a foreign, archaic, or unfamiliar word. Depending on the context it can mean (at least) two separate pronunciations.


1.) In older English texts, Latin words, or most western words in general the line over the a indicates that it is a long vowel. That means the 'a' is meant to be pronounced like in day or pay. This is the product of older versions of phonetic spelling.

2.) If the word in question is of Sanskrit origin (a word originating in and around India for example) the letter a is to be pronounced like in the word father. A good example of this is the word nirvana, which in some older texts would be printed with lines above both of the 'a's. This is a product of the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST), which is a system for rendering Sanskrit words in the English alphabet.

There may probably be more language specific answers to your question, but I hope the above two rules help you through the most common occurrences of the letter a with a line over it.

I make no claims at being any kind of linguist, but those are the answers I found after asking myself the same question some time back.

Cheers,
Casey from Texas
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15y ago
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AnswerBot

6mo ago

A "w" with a line over it is often used to represent a unit in physics called a watt, which measures power. It is named after James Watt, known for his contributions to the development of the steam engine.

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Wiki User

15y ago

It means Double O, or simple OO [= Most likely means a Double O negative blood type.

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Wiki User

13y ago

'which'.

c with a line over means with.

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Wiki User

11y ago

Which

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Noah Harvin

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2y ago

tr

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Q: What does a 'w' with a line over it mean?
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