Analphabetic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Unable to read or write; lacking knowledge of the alphabet
2. Lacking the ability to recognize or reproduce written letters and words
3. Describing a person who has not acquired reading or writing skills

Etymology: "Analphabetic" is a plain compound: the prefix "an-", meaning "without" or "not", attached to "alphabetic." The prefix comes down from ancient Greek "an-" (in the form "ἀν-"), which carried the same negating sense, so the word is built from two Greek-derived pieces that English joined together. The base, "alphabetic," describes anything related to an alphabet, and the alphabet itself takes its name from the first two letters of the Greek writing system, "alpha" and "beta." The negative prefix therefore reads literally as "without an alphabet," which fits the word's sense of someone who has never learned to read or write. The formation follows the same pattern as other English words built with "an-," such as "anarchy" and "anonymous," where the prefix simply turns the base into its opposite.

Synonyms: illiterate, unlettered, uneducated, ignorant, unread

Antonyms: literate, educated, read, knowledgeable, informed