About the prefix "a-"
Hello.

Is there anyone who has ever noticed some of these pairs of synonyms before?
abate,bate;abide,bide;arise,rise;around,round(prep.);aplenty,plenty;aweary,weary...

Acutually my dictionary has given me different definitions of the prefix "a-",one of which is more or less like "to give emphasis".But beside this slight difference,I'm still wondering if they are equally spoken in your daily life? Which one is used more in use,the one with the prefix or the other?

Thanks!

Question

About the prefix "a-" 
Hello.

Is there anyone who has ever noticed some of these pairs of synonyms before?
abate,bate;abide,bide;arise,rise;around,round(prep.);aplenty,plenty;aweary,weary...

Acutually my dictionary has given me different definitions of the prefix "a-",one of which is more or less like "to give emphasis".But beside this slight difference,I'm still wondering if they are equally spoken in your daily life? Which one is used more in use,the one with the prefix or the other?

Thanks!

Answer

Ni hao ma
It has been long :) 
An interesting question indeed!
Since you are a classic English literature reader , you are likely to meet those a- prefix initials of words more often . Many of them are not used in contemporary speech and daily life as much. Many evolved from being used frequently in Old English through Middle English speech to lesser and lesser contemporary usage. Some  on the other hand are still used abundantly today (such as around ) 
The prefix "a" could mean :
- on , in , at :
  e.g  in such a manner  ( aloud)  , on purpose ( a-purpose) .
- not ,without .
  eg . ahistorical ( not related to history).

Answer

I am curious too. I just understand them like they are very close to each other.