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Roman alphabet

American  

Roman alphabet British  

noun

  1. the alphabet evolved by the ancient Romans for the writing of Latin, based upon an Etruscan form derived from the Greeks and ultimately from the Phoenicians. The alphabet serves for writing most of the languages of W Europe and many other languages

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Roman alphabet

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

Finally, the Roman alphabet, still used in western and central Europe today, was based on Etruscan modifications to the Greek alphabet.

From Textbooks Apr. 19, 2023

The church adapted the Roman alphabet to introduce literacy in the Sora language, and in the 1980s a flood of government schools, roads, employment and development cash introduced speaking and writing in Odia, too.

From Scientific American Jan. 5, 2023

Some of the younger students have learned to write their names in the modified Roman alphabet used in Polish, while others use Ukrainian-language Cyrillic lettering.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 28, 2022

Among the other intricate pieces are Stephen Benedicto’s pencil-drawn black-on-black labyrinth and Ying Zhu’s wry homage to the Roman alphabet, in which A’s swarm like ants.

From Washington Post Feb. 27, 2020

The disk’s script was a syllabary with more signs, of more complex form, than the Roman alphabet used by Gutenberg.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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