alphabet Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language
  2. noun the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)
    ABC; rudiment; first principle; first rudiment; ABC's; ABCs.
    • he mastered only the rudiments of geometry

WordNet

Al"pha*bet noun
Etymology
L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. + , the first two Greek letters; Heb. aleph and beth: cf. F. alphabet.
Definitions
  1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language.
  2. The simplest rudiments; elements.
    The very alphabet of our law. Macaulay.
Al"pha*bet transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. R.

Webster 1913