alphabetic
Americanadjective
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relating to, expressed by, or using an alphabet.
The language uses alphabetic writing.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of alphabetic
First recorded in 1640–50; from French alphabétique, from Late Latin alphabēticus, equivalent to alphabet ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )
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.
What appears to be evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history is etched onto finger-length, clay cylinders excavated from a tomb in Syria by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
It used a combination of alphabetic signs, syllabic signs, word signs, and pictures of objects.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Several centuries later, around 1,100 B.C., these earliest alphabetic scripts were adopted by the Phoenicians, who strictly wrote from right to left and standardized the shape and stance of the letters.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
They are believed to have developed the first known alphabetic system of writing.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
Thus, the developmental sequence of uses for alphabetic writing was the reverse of that for the earlier systems of logograms and syllabaries.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
