alphabet
/ˈæl.fəˌbɛt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.70 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The set of letters used when writing in a language.
noun
A writing system in which letters represent phonemes. (Contrast e.g. logography, a writing system in which each character represents a word, and syllabary, in which each character represents a syllable.)
noun
A writing system in which letters represent phonemes. (Contrast e.g. logography, a writing system in which each character represents a word, and syllabary, in which each character represents a syllable.)
noun
noun
An agent of the FBI, the CIA, or another such government agency.
verb
To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically.
Example Sentences
- "The Greek alphabet has only twenty-four letters."
- "In the first year of school, pupils are taught to recite the alphabet."
- "Let L be a regular language over the alphabet #92;Sigma."
- "The notes are named with the first seven alphabets."
- "We realize the fact that the alphabet A has been used in many world scripts as a vowel with the others AEIOU."
- "There are 26 alphabets in English."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Semitic *ʔalp- Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤐 (ʾlp)bor. Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha) Proto-Semitic *bayt- Phoenician 𐤁𐤕 (bt)bor. Ancient Greek βῆτᾰ (bêtă) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos) Byzantine Greek ἀλφάβητον (alphábēton)der. Classical Latin alphabētumbor. Middle English alphabete English alphabet From Middle English alphabete, borrowed from Classical Latin alphabētum, from Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos), from ἄλφα (álpha) and βῆτα (bêta), the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, Α (A) and Β (B), lowercase forms α and β. The Greek names derived from aleph, the name of the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “ox”) and beth, the name of the letter 𐤁 (b, “house”), so called because they were pictograms of those objects, having developed from the Egyptian hieroglyphs F1 (𓃾) and pr (𓉐). Doublet of alfabeto. Dipslaced native Old English stæfrǣw (literally "staff-row").
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: alphabete, alphabētum, ἀλφάβητος, -
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæl.fəˌbɛt/
- British English: /ˈæl.fəˌbɛt/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
alphabetic(-al) → alphabetically
multi-
poly-
-ise
alphanumeric(-al)
deaf-and-dumb alphabet
semi-alphabet
Bengali alphabet