The [[symbol]] ''[[Objet (petit) a|a]]'' stands for the first [[letter]] of the [[word]] "''[[autre]]''" ("[[other]]").
It is always lower case to denote the "[[little other]] rather than the "big Other]]" [[symbolized]] by the capital ''A''[''utre''].
The use of the lower case marks the distinction between this [[object]] and the "[[big Other]]" [[symbolized]] by the capital ''A''[''utre''].
