Hypertext Webster Gateway: "alphabet"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Alphabet \Al"pha*bet\, n. [L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. ? + ?, the
first two Greek letters; Heb. [=a]leph and beth: cf. F.
alphabet.]
1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order;
the series of letters or signs which form the elements of
written language.
2. The simplest rudiments; elements.
The very alphabet of our law. --Macaulay.
{Deaf and dumb alphabet}. See {Dactylology}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Alphabet \Al"pha*bet\, v. t.
To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange
alphabetically. [R.]
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
alphabet
n 1: a character set that includes letters
2: the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural); "he
mastered the rudiments of geometry" [syn: {rudiment}, {first
rudiment}, {first principle}, {ABC}, {ABC's}, {ABCs}]
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