Dictionary entry

Alphabet

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Al″pha‐bet (�), n. [L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. � + �, the first two Greek letters; Heb. āleph 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.