Alphabetic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌæl.fəˈbɛt.ɪk/

Definitions

1. Relating to or based on a system of characters representing individual sounds or letters arranged in a conventional order
2. Concerning a method of writing where symbols symbolize distinct sounds or letters arranged in a recognized sequence
3. Pertaining to a type of writing system that uses discrete symbols to denote specific sounds or letters organized in a standard progression

Etymology: "Alphabetic" is built from "alphabet" plus the suffix "-ic," and the word "alphabet" itself is the more interesting part: it takes its name from the first two letters of the Greek writing system, "alpha" and "beta." Those letters were in turn borrowed from the Phoenician script, where the first letters were "aleph" and "beth," words meaning "ox" and "house." The Greek names were compounded into a single term, "alphabetos," which Latin later rendered as "alphabetum." The adjective itself reached English by two routes at once. It was partly taken from French "alphabétique" and partly taken directly from Latin "alphabēticus," so English speakers received it through both channels. Its core sense has stayed stable: something relating to letters arranged in their conventional sequence, rather than to letters as such.

Synonyms: alphabetical, letter-based