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.
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   2. The simplest rudiments; elements.
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            The very alphabet of our law.         --Macaulay.
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   Deaf and dumb alphabet. See Dactylology.
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	Alphabet \Al"pha*bet\, v. t.
   To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange
   alphabetically. [R.]
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	alphabet
    n 1: a character set that includes letters and is used to write
         a language
    2: the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural); "he
       mastered only the rudiments of geometry" [syn: rudiment,
       first rudiment, first principle, alphabet, ABC,
       ABC's, ABCs]

	

	78 Moby Thesaurus words for "alphabet":
   IPA, ITA, Initial Teaching Alphabet,
   International Phonetic Alphabet, alphabetics, art, basics,
   beginning, blueprint, charactering, characterization, chart,
   choreography, commencement, conventional representation,
   dance notation, delineation, demonstration, depiction, depictment,
   diagram, drama, drawing, elements, exemplification, figuration,
   first principles, first steps, fundamentals, futhark, grammar,
   graphemics, hieroglyphic, hornbook, iconography, ideogram,
   illustration, imagery, imaging, induction, letter, letters,
   limning, logogram, logograph, map, musical notation, notation,
   outlines, outset, paleography, pictogram, picturization, plan,
   portraiture, portrayal, prefigurement, presentment, primer,
   principia, principles, printing, projection, realization,
   rendering, rendition, representation, rudiments, runic alphabet,
   schema, score, script, start, syllabary, symbol, tablature,
   writing, writing system