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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:

These consonant clusters comprise multiple letters when written out in the Roman alphabet, but are one letter in the Yautja alphabet.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 10, 2025

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

A short distance outside Naples, Mattia Buondonno, Pompeii’s celebrated guide, stopped in front of a storefront facade and pointed out the faded etchings of letters from the Roman alphabet.

From New York Times Jan. 3, 2018

The Roman alphabet itself was the end product of a long sequence of blueprint copying.

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

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