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No matter how thoroughly a person may have learned the Greek alphabet, he will never be in a condition to repeat it backwards without further training.
Hermann Ebbinghaus

Meaning of "alphabet" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD ALPHABET

From Late Latin alphabētum, from Greek alphabētos, from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF ALPHABET

alphabet  [ˈælfəˌbɛt] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF ALPHABET

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Alphabet is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES ALPHABET MEAN IN ENGLISH?

alphabet

Alphabet

An alphabet is a standard set of letters which is used to write one or more languages based on the general principle that the letters represent phonemes of the spoken language. This is in contrast to other types of writing systems, such as syllabaries and logographies. A true alphabet has letters for the vowels of a language as well as the consonants. The first "true alphabet" in this sense is believed to be the Greek alphabet, which is a modified form of the Phoenician alphabet. In other types of alphabet either the vowels are not indicated at all, as was the case in the Phoenician alphabet, or else the vowels are shown by diacritics or modification of consonants, as in the devanagari used in India and Nepal. There are dozens of alphabets in use today, the most popular being the Latin alphabet. Many languages use modified forms of the Latin alphabet, with additional letters formed using diacritical marks. While most alphabets have letters composed of lines, there are also exceptions such as the alphabets used in Braille, fingerspelling, and Morse code. Alphabets are usually associated with a standard ordering of their letters.

Definition of alphabet in the English dictionary

The first definition of alphabet in the dictionary is a set of letters or other signs used in a writing system, usually arranged in a fixed order, each letter or sign being used to represent one or sometimes more than one phoneme in the language being transcribed. Other definition of alphabet is any set of symbols or characters, esp one representing sounds of speech. Alphabet is also basic principles or rudiments, as of a subject.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH ALPHABET


abet
əˈbɛt
barbette
bɑːˈbɛt
bet
bɛt
beth
bɛt
drabette
dræˈbɛt
overbet
ˌəʊvəˈbɛt
quodlibet
ˈkwɒdlɪˌbɛt
Tibet
tɪˈbɛt

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE ALPHABET

alpha-beta brass
alpha-blocker
alpha-carotene
alpha-cellulose
alpha-fetoprotein
alpha-hydroxy acid
alpha-linolenic acid
alpha-test
alphabet soup
alphabetarian
alphabetic
alphabetical
alphabetically
alphabetiform
alphabetisation
alphabetise
alphabetiser
alphabetization
alphabetize
alphabetizer

WORDS THAT END LIKE ALPHABET

aleph-bet
analphabet
barbet
Courbet
Cyrillic alphabet
finger alphabet
gibbet
Initial Teaching Alphabet
International Phonetic Alphabet
Latin alphabet
Morse alphabet
phonetic alphabet
rabbet
Roman alphabet
sherbet
sorbet
Tebet
thibet
you bet
zerumbet

Synonyms and antonyms of alphabet in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «ALPHABET»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «alphabet» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of alphabet

Translation of «alphabet» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF ALPHABET

Find out the translation of alphabet to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of alphabet from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «alphabet» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

字母表
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

abecedario
570 millions of speakers

English

alphabet
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

वर्णमाला
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

أَبْجَدِيَّة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

алфавит
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

alfabeto
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

বর্ণমালা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

alphabet
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Abjad
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Alphabet
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

アルファベット
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

알파벳
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Alfabet
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

bảng chữ cái
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

எழுத்துக்களை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

वर्णमाला
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

alfabe
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

alfabeto
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

alfabet
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

абетка
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

alfabet
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

αλφάβητο
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

alfabet
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

alfabete
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

alfabet
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of alphabet

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «ALPHABET»

The term «alphabet» is very widely used and occupies the 11.087 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
95
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «alphabet» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of alphabet
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «alphabet».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «ALPHABET» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «alphabet» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «alphabet» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about alphabet

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «ALPHABET»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word alphabet.
1
Chris Abani
My books are often shelved around those of Chinua Achebe and Margaret Atwood, or Chimamanda Adichie and Monica Ali. All of this depends, of course, on the bookstore and how conversant the shelf stocker is with the alphabet.
2
Giorgio Armani
I've always thought of the T-shirt as the Alpha and Omega of the fashion alphabet.
3
William Henry Bragg
The atoms may be compared to the letters of the alphabet, which can be put together into innumerable ways to form words. So the atoms are combined in equal variety to form what are called molecules.
4
Roz Chast
I sometimes suffer from insomnia. And when I can't fall asleep, I play what I call the alphabet game.
5
Brian P. Cleary
I like all things grammatical, and I had already written several books about parts of speech, and even the alphabet, so everything that makes up a sentence and even a word was covered except for punctuation.
6
Tre Cool
I like Fisher Price music, nursery rhymes, and the alphabet song.
7
Hermann Ebbinghaus
No matter how thoroughly a person may have learned the Greek alphabet, he will never be in a condition to repeat it backwards without further training.
8
Hermann Ebbinghaus
Out of the simple consonants of the alphabet and our eleven vowels and diphthongs all possible syllables of a certain sort were constructed, a vowel sound being placed between two consonants.
9
Joshua Foer
Over the last few millennia we've invented a series of technologies - from the alphabet to the scroll to the codex, the printing press, photography, the computer, the smartphone - that have made it progressively easier and easier for us to externalize our memories, for us to essentially outsource this fundamental human capacity.
10
William Gibson
Why shouldn't we give our teachers a license to obtain software, all software, any software, for nothing? Does anyone demand a licensing fee, each time a child is taught the alphabet?

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «ALPHABET»

Discover the use of alphabet in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to alphabet and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Alphabet
The author presents a poetic version of the alphabet that is based structurally on Fibonacci's mathematical sequence in which every number is the sum of the two previous numbers.
Inger Christensen, 2001
2
The Graphic Alphabet
This elegant alphabet is for those who long ago mastered their ABCs but never outgrew their passion for discovering beauty in unexpected places.
David Pelletier, 1996
3
The Construction Alphabet Book
Learn words used in construction and buildings.
Jerry Pallotta, 2006
4
Alphabet Rescue
While on vacation in Alphabet City, Little e and the other lowercase letters repair an old fire truck and come to the rescue when a fire engulfs the letter-making factory.
Audrey Wood, 2006
5
The Korean Alphabet: Its History and Structure
A collection of ten essays which cover topics such as: arguments for King Sejong's personal creation of the script; the Asian and domestic linguistic and socio-cultural background to its creation; the principles under which each symbol was ...
Young-Key Kim-Renaud, 1997
6
The Icky Bug Alphabet Book
Introduces the characteristics and activities of insects and other crawly creatures from A to Z, beginning with the ant and concluding with the zebra butterfly.
Jerry Pallotta, Neil Pallotta, 1986
7
Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z
While teaching upper- and lowercase letters to preschoolers, Ehlert introduces fruits and vegetables from around the world. A glossary at the end provides interesting facts about each food.
Lois Ehlert, 2013
8
Alphabet Killer: The True Story of the Double Initial Murders
This factual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.
Cheri L. Farnsworth, 2010
9
The Butterfly Alphabet Book
Introduces the characteristics and activities of butterflies from A to Z, beginning with the Apollo butterfly and concluding with the zephyr metalmark
Brian Cassie, Jerry Pallotta, 1995
10
The Alphabet Of Manliness (revised and updated)
" A full-color insert Corrections to typos! I, Maddox, the author, personally guarantee that this is the best edition of the book since the last one. This book is only for the saltiest, hairiest, most rugged sons of bitches out there.
Maddox, 2009

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «ALPHABET»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term alphabet is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Preview: A Musical Alphabet, St Andrew's Church, Chippenham
Singing as part of the Chippenham Arts Festival, CLOGS will be performing their summer concert A Musical Alphabet in Chippenham this July. «The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, Jul 15»
2
New Māori alphabet app launched to help all ages
Kapohia Ltd has released their app, "Arapū", as Māori Language Week approaches and with school holidays just around the corner. Originally ... «Māori Television, Jul 15»
3
Alphabet extends framework agreement contract with Crown …
Business mobility specialist Alphabet has been successfully reappointed as a supplier on the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Vehicle ... «Business Car Manager, Jul 15»
4
Alphabet Streets: Join A Type Safari In Dalston
Signs and the fonts they are composed of are a vital part of the urban fabric indicating places to go and things to do, but the typography can ... «Londonist, Jun 15»
5
The alphabet of months: a year of living with multiple sclerosis
My daughter took her first steps on the day I was diagnosed – a juxtaposition so perfect, so trite, so filled with the tacky artifice of real life that I ... «New Statesman, Jun 15»
6
GOOD NEWS: Alphabet Games teach about bible
Alphabet Bible Games will help our children become more familiar with their Bibles, and help them learn where to find interesting facts, helpful ... «Wicked Local Norton, Jun 15»
7
Alpha, Beta, Heathcliff — An Alphabet Of Romance Heroes
There's one hard and fast rule for the romance novel: It has to have a happy ending. The two people you think should be together will be ... «NPR, Jun 15»
8
Indian Street Food Finds Home in Alphabet City
Too often, Indian food is only associated with curry, say Jessi and Jennifer Singh, owners of Alphabet City's Babu Ji. With their new American ... «Wall Street Journal, Jun 15»
9
The Alphabet According to Mom
You won't find any A is for apple stuff here. This is what the letters mean to tired, frazzled, constantly at their wit's ends, but love the hell out of ... «Huffington Post, Jun 15»
10
Borla, Alphabet Energy to Develop Fuel-Saving Exhaust System for …
Borla, a manufacturer of stainless-steel performance exhaust systems and Alphabet Energy, a thermoelectrics for waste heat recovery firm, ... «Environmental Leader, Jun 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Alphabet [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/alphabet>. Apr 2024 ».
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