Abjad

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæbˌd͡ʒæd/

Definitions

1. A script that represents consonants primarily while leaving vowels implicit is known as a type of writing system
2. Such a writing system typically conveys meaning through sounds represented by consonants without explicitly stated vowels
3. In linguistic terms, this refers to a form of orthography that emphasizes consonantal letters and often omits vowel marks

Etymology: The Arabic word "abjad" started as a list. It is the traditional name for the order of the Arabic alphabet, taken from the first four letters: alif, ba, jim and dal, which in the Arabic script are written أ, ب, ج and د. Just as English speakers recite "ABC" to name their alphabet, Arabic speakers could refer to the whole sequence of letters by these opening sounds. English borrowed the term from Arabic, but used it for a different idea. The name refers to the ordering of letters, yet in modern linguistics it labels a whole category of writing system: scripts that record consonants and leave most vowels unwritten, as Arabic and Hebrew do in everyday text. The linguistic sense was coined by the scholar Peter T. Daniels, who needed a precise term for this type of script. Here the word moved from naming a sequence of letters to naming a way of writing sounds.