abecedarian
Americannoun
-
a person who is learning the letters of the alphabet.
-
a beginner in any field of learning.
adjective
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of or relating to the alphabet.
-
arranged in alphabetical order.
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of abecedarian
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Medieval Latin abecedāriānus; abecedary, -an
Explanation
Say abecedarian and you will notice something peculiar — it sounds like a-b-c-d, and that’s not a coincidence. It means either a novice — a person just learning the ABCs of something — or it can describe something arranged alphabetically. The word comes from the Latin abecedarius, which means "alphabetical," based on the names of the first letters of the Latin alphabet. The word alphabetical, too, is based on the names of the first letters of the alphabet — but the Greek alphabet, which begins "alpha, beta." Abecedarian can also mean rudimentary. Sherlock Holmes might have said, “Abecedarian, my dear Watson.”
Vocabulary lists containing abecedarian
Power Suffix: -arian
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Reference Works - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Exceptions to this rule are few and fairly obvious: You are permitted to break from the abecedarian plan to shelve anthologies, reference texts, how-to books, and miscellany.
From Slate • Jul. 30, 2014
The "seamless" and communal thought processes of tribal, preliterate man were fragmented; perception itself took on the rigid, abecedarian character of writing.
From Time Magazine Archive
Introduce the abecedarian to but one letter at first.
From Popular Education For the use of Parents and Teachers, and for Young Persons of Both Sexes by Mayhew, Ira
To begin at the beginning—the Alphabetical Blocks and Educational tables from which our Southern abecedarian takes his initial lesson, were projected and manufactured in the North.
From The Impending Crisis of the South How to Meet It by Helper, Hinton Rowan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
