Abscedary

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the letters of the alphabet or arranged in alphabetical sequence ; a beginner who is learning the letters or a primer used to teach them
2. Arranged in the order of the alphabet or built around its letters ; someone just starting to learn the alphabet or the book that teaches it
3. Of or pertaining to the alphabet in its standard order ; a novice learning basic letters or an elementary book for teaching the letters

Etymology: In Latin, "abscedere" meant "to go away" or "to depart," built from "ab-" (away) and "cedere" (to go). Medical writers used the idea to describe a swelling that seemed to draw its matter away from the surface, which is also where "abscess" comes from: a "going away" of corrupt matter. From that root came "abscedary," a term in older medical English for something that makes an abscess disperse, or for a remedy used to do so.