Aa is the name of a large number of small European rivers. The word is derived from the continental common Germanic word aha, cognate to the Latin aqua, meaning water. The following are the more important streams of this name: Two rivers in Latvia, both falling into the Gulf of Riga, near Riga, which is situated between them; a river in the north of France, falling into the sea below Gravelines, and navigable as far as St Omer; and a river of Switzerland, in the cantons of Lucerne and Aargau, which carries the waters of Lakes Baldegger and Hallwiler into the Aar. In Germany there are the Westphalian Aa, rising in the Teutoburger Wald, and joining the Werre at Herford, the Münster Aa, a tributary of the Ems, and others. In Danish, Aa was the generic word for 'river'. It consisted of the digraph letter aa which, since the mid-20th century, has been written as å. The Anglo-Saxon form of the word was ea, which is nowadays written as eau but persists only in river names. That persistence occurs principally in areas of England which were influenced by Danish culture. In Swedish, closely related to Danish, the form å (never Aa) has always been a generic word for a small river, such as the Fyrisån, while the word älv has been used for larger rivers, such as Dalälven. Aa River may refer to:
- Aa River (France), in the north of France
- Aabach (Greifensee), river in Switzerland
- Aabach (Afte), river in Germany, a tributary of the Afte River
- Lielupe (German: Kurländische Aa), river in Latvia
- Gauja (German: Livländische Aa), river in Latvia
- The Sarner Aa river in Switzerland
- The Engelberger Aa river in Switzerland
- The Westfälische Aa river in the Westphalia region of Germany
- The Münstersche Aa river in the Münster region of Germany
- The Great Aa (Große Aa) river in Germany
- in the Netherlands and Belgium:
- Aa, a river in Antwerp, and joining the Kleine Nete at Grobbendonk.
- Drentse Aa, a small river in the Drenthe and Groningen provinces that also flows through Groningen city.
- Aa River (Meuse), flowing through Helmond and 's-Hertogenbosch.
- Aa or Weerijs, also in Noord-Brabant, a small river near Breda, rising at Wuustwezel, Belgium, joint by the Kleine Aa, rising at Brecht, Belgium.
- several small rivers and canals in Groningen province, such as Pekel Aa, Ruiten Aa, Mussel Aa.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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