Смысл: -a

-a[-ə]
suff
<Í> образует форму мн. ч. лат. и греч. сущ. среднего рода, преим. научных терминов (особ. в области биологии)
1. соотносится с -um, суффиксом ед. ч. лат. сущ.:
herbaria - гербарии
sera - сыворотки
phyla - (таксономические) типы
spectra - спектры
scrota - мошонки
incunabula - инкунабулы
media - средства, среды
symposia - симпозиумы
bacteria - бактерии
формы на -a часто имеют параллельные варианты на -ums:
aquaria, aquariums - аквариумы
premia, premiums - надбавки, премии
millenia, milleniums - тысячелетия
2. соотносится с -on, суффиксом ед. ч. греч. сущ.:
criteria - критерии
phenomena - явления
noumena - ноумены
prolegomena - пролегомены
automata - автоматы
etyma - этимоны
3. часто встречается в названиях высших биологических таксонов (не имеющих форм ед. ч.):
Arthropoda - членистоногие
Amphibia - земноводные
Coelenterata - кишечнополостные
Chiroptera - рукокрылые
Hydrozoa - гидроиды
Monotremata - однопроходные

dime a dozen, a Идиома

a babe in arms

a baby, a child who is still wet behind the ears Dar was just a babe in arms when we emigrated to Canada.

a babe in the woods

"a defenseless person; a naive, young person" He's just a babe in the woods. He needs someone to protect him.

a bad taste in my mouth

a feeling that something is false or unfair, a feeling of ill will I left the meeting with a bad taste in my mouth. There was a lot of dishonesty in the room.

a bad time

a lot of teasing, a rough time The class gave him a bad time about his pink shorts.

a ball-park figure

"a number that is near the total; approximate figure" Fifty is a ball-park figure. It's close to our class size.

a bar fly

a person who often goes to bars or lounges Every evening Penny goes to Lucifer's. She's quite a bar fly.

a bar star

a girl who goes to bars to drink and find friends Lola was known as a bar star at Pinky's Lounge.

a bare-faced lie

a deliberate lie, a planned lie His statement to the police was false - a bare-faced lie.

a barnburner

an exciting game, a cliff-hanger When the Flames play the Oilers it's a barnburner - a great game.

a barrel of laughs

a lot of fun, a person who makes you laugh Let's invite Chang to our party. He's a barrel of laughs.

dime a dozen, a

Readily available, so bargain as to be after value. The dime actuality an American coin, declared the ten-cent allotment by the Continental Congress in 1786 (the chat comes from the French dime, for “tithe,” or one-tenth), this announcement is acutely American in agent and apparently owes its continued activity to alliterative appeal. Inflation has added base the meaning. Early in the twentieth aeon a dime could buy a album book (dime novel) or a cup of coffee and a doughnut; “Brother, can you additional a dime?” was the accepted cry for a advertisement during the Great Depression of the 1930s.Learn more: dime

Learn more:

More Idioms/Phrases

a babe in the woods a bad taste in my mouth a bad time a ball-park figure a bar fly a bar star a bare-faced lie a barnburner a barrel of laughs a basket case a bawling out a bed of roses a bee in her bonnet a big rig a big shot a big wheel a big wig