alphabet

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The complete set of letters used to write a language.

   The Greek alphabet has only twenty-four letters.

2. 2
   noun

   A writing system in which letters stand for sounds, as opposed to a syllabary or logography.

   English uses an alphabet, while Chinese uses characters that stand for whole words.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Alphabet entered English in the late Middle English period from Greek alphabētos, a word formed from alpha and beta, the names of the first two Greek letters. The combined name came to denote the complete set of Greek letters.

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…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary