See Also: Alphabet(medicine)
alphabet(dictionary)
alphabet(encyclopedia)
alphabet(dictionary)
Roman alphabet(dictionary)
alphabet (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Latin alphabet(encyclopedia)
Letters of the Alphabet(recipes)
Hebrew alphabet(encyclopedia)
Greek alphabet(encyclopedia)

alphabet (iou)



alphabet noun & verb. LME.
[Late Latin alphabetum, (Tertullian), alphabetos, from Greek from ALPHA, BETA, the first two letters of the alphabet, taken to represent the whole. Cf. ABC.]
A. noun.
1. Knowledge acquired from written works. rare. Only in LME.
2. A set of letters used in writing a language; a set of symbols or signs used for these letters. E16.
initial teaching alphabet: see INITIAL adjective. phonetic alphabet a set of symbols used to represent speech sounds (International Phonetic Alphabet: see INTERNATIONAL adjective.).
b. Computing. A set of characters or symbols used in representing data. M20.
3. An index in alphabetical order. Now rare. M16.
4. fig. The key to a branch of knowledge; the first rudiments of a subject. arch. L16.
5. fig. A long or complete series. L16.
Comb.: alphabet soup clear soup containing letter-shaped pieces of macaroni paste etc.; fig. a muddle.
B. verb trans. = alphabetize. Chiefly US. L17.
alphabetarian noun (now rare) (a) = ABECEDARIAN noun 1; (b) a person who studies alphabets: E17.
alpha'betic adjective = alphabetical M17.
alpha'betical adjective (of the order of letters or words) corresponding to that of the alphabet; of or pertaining to an alphabet; employing an alphabet: M16.
alpha'betically adverb in alphabetical order; by means of an alphabet: M16.
alpha'betiform adjective shaped like the letters of an alphabet E20.
alphabeti'zation noun the process of arranging in alphabetical order; an alphabetical series or list: L19.
alphabetize verb trans. arrange in alphabetical order L18.