alphabet

Noun

Synonyms: rudiment first rudiment first principle ABC ABC's ABCs

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language
the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)“he mastered only the rudiments of geometry”Synonyms: rudiment first rudiment first principle ABC ABC's ABCs

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Alphabet \Al"pha*bet\, n. [L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. ? + ?, the first two Greek letters; Heb. [=a]leph and beth: cf. F. alphabet.]

1.The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language. [1913 Webster]

2.The simplest rudiments; elements. [1913 Webster]

The very alphabet of our law.— Macaulay.[1913 Webster]

Deaf and dumb alphabet. See Dactylology. [1913 Webster]

Alphabet \Al"pha*bet\, v. t. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. [R.] [1913 Webster]