alphabetic
alphabetic Lexical Profile
alphabetic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, using, or expressed by an alphabet rather than logograms or syllabaries.
"The transition from pictographic symbols to an alphabetic script marked a major milestone in the history of writing."
Arranged in the customary order of the letters of the alphabet.
"The library catalog provides an alphabetic index of all authors and titles in the collection."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'alphabetic' and 'alphabetical' are often interchangeable, 'alphabetic' is preferred in linguistics for describing writing systems that use an alphabet (e.g., alphabetic script), whereas 'alphabetical' is much more common for describing the order of items (e.g., alphabetical order).
• Rhymes for alphabetic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 17th century from Late Latin 'alphabeticus', from Ancient Greek 'alphabetos' (formed from 'alpha' and 'beta', the first two letters of the Greek alphabet).