Æ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. One.
2. A digraph or ligature appearing in Latin and Latinized Greek words. In Middle Latin and New Latin it is usually written and printed as a ligature, and sounded like Latin e, with which in Middle Latin it constantly interchanges. In classical Latin it was usually written separately (and hence usually so printed in modern editions of classical texts), and pronounced probably as a diphthong. In Old Latin ai appears instead of ae, and Latin ae, æ is the regular transliteration of Gr. αι, as aegis or ægis, from Gr. ī αίγι/ς. In English words of Latin or Greek origin ae or æ is usually reduced to e, except generally in proper names, as Cæsar, Æneas, in words belonging to Roman or Greek antiquities, as ægis, and modern words of scientific or technical use, as phænogamous. But the tendency is to reduce ae or æ to e in all words not purely Latin or New Latin, except proper names in their original forms. In some names of changed form the a has become permanently eliminated, as Egypt, and in some of otherwise unchanged form nearly or quite so, as Etna, Ethiopia. When ae represents the diphthong æ, it should be distinguished from ae not a diphthong, the latter being commonly marked with a dieresis, as in aëro-, aërial, etc.
3. A character in the Anglo-Saxon alphabet representing a simple vowel, having when short the sound of English a in glad (ă), and when long the sound of English a in glare, dare, etc. (ã), as commonly pronounced in the United States. The form is that of the late Latin æ, which had a sound nearly the same as simple e (see æ). In the twelfth century short æ began to disappear, being represented by a (sometimes by e), without, however, any appreciable change of sound. Long æ also disappeared, being regularly replaced by e (long) or ee, with a change of sound through Middle English ē (that is, ā in modern pronunciation) to modern ī (that is, ē in modern pronunciation). Examples are: short æ, whence Middle English and modern English a: as, Anglo-Saxon glæd, sæd, æt, hæt, etc., whence Middle English and modern English glad, sad, at, hat, etc.; long æ, whence Middle English ē or ee, modern English ee or ea: as, Anglo-Saxon sǣd, rǣdan, sǣ, etc., Middle English seed, rede, se or see, etc., modern English seed, read, sea, etc. Before r, long æ has usually retained its Anglo-Saxon sound (at least in the United States): as, Anglo-Saxon ǣ, thǣr, hwǣr, hǣr, etc., modern English ere, there, where, hair, etc. In British works the vowel in these words is usually treated as a prolonged “short e” (as in met), or as a slightly modified “long a” (as in mate).
4. The symbol used in Lloyd's Register for third-class wooden and composite ships. This class includes vessels unfit for the conveyance of dry and perishable goods on short voyages, and of cargoes in their nature subject to sea-damage on any voyage. See A1, under a.
5. The nominative plural termination of Latin and Latinized Greek words in -a (in Latinized Greek also -e, -as, -es) of the first declension, feminine, sometimes masculine. This plural termination is sometimes retained in English, as in formulæ, nebulæ, vertebræ, minutiæ, etc., in some cases alongside of a regular English plural, as in formulas, nebulas, etc. In the formal and technical terminations, -aceæ, -eæ, -idæ, -inæ, in botany and zoology, -æ ends the plural names of orders, tribes, etc., of plants, and of families and subfamilies of animals.

Wiktionary

1. n. A ligature from the letters A and E.
2. n. Ligature of vowels A and E.
3. n. The pseudonym of the Irish writer George William Russell.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. A diphthong in the Latin language; used also by the Saxon writers. It answers to the Gr. ai. The Anglo-Saxon short æ was generally replaced by a, the long ǣ by e or ee. In derivatives from Latin words with ae, it is mostly superseded by e. For most words found with this initial combination, the reader will therefore search under the letter E.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. Irish writer whose pen name was A.E. (1867-1935)