A, the article

The word "a" has varying meanings and uses. "A" means "one" or "any," but less emphatically than either. It may mean one where only one is intended, or it may mean any one of a great number. It is placed before nouns of the singular number, denoting an individual object or quality individualized.

The article "a" is not necessarily a singular term; it is often used in the sense of "any" and is then applied to more than one individual object. Lewis v. Spies, 43 A.D.2d 714, 350 N.Y.S.2d 14, 17.

So under a statute providing that the issuance of "a" certificate to one carrier should not bar a certificate to another over the same route, a certificate could be granted to more than two carriers over the same route. State ex rel. Crown Coach Co. v. Public Service Commission, 238 Mo.App. 287, 179 S.W.2d 123, 127.

Also, article "a" in statute making it a crime for a person to have in his possession a completed check with intent to defraud includes the plural. People v. Carter, 75 C.A.3d 865, 142 Cal.Rptr. 517, 520.

But the meaning depends on context.

For example, in Workers' Compensation Act (Workers' Compensation Acts), on, or in or about "a" railway, factory, etc., was held not to mean any railway, factory, etc., but the railway, factory, etc., of the employer. Where the law required the delivery of a copy of a notice to husband and a copy to wife, the sheriffs return that he had delivered "a copy" to husband and wife was insufficient. State v. Davis, Tex.Civ. App., 139 S.W.2d 638, 640