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# alphabet

noun (an alphabet, alphabets; the alphabet)

«alphabet» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The alphabet is the set of letters used to write a language, put in a fixed order. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#m1)
2. An alphabet is any such set of letters, like the Greek alphabet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#m2)
3. The basics of something are sometimes called its alphabet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#m3)

### In the lessons

In literacy the English alphabet has 26 letters from A to Z: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants (y can act as both). Alphabetical order is used in dictionaries, registers and indexes. Other alphabets: Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic. Phrases: «alphabet song», «in alphabetical order».

### Examples

- The English alphabet has 26 letters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x1)
- Can you say the alphabet backwards? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x2)
- Put these words in alphabetical order. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x3)
- The Greek alphabet starts with alpha and beta. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x4)
- Little children sing the alphabet song. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x5)
- Z is the last letter of the alphabet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x6)
- Chinese is not written with an alphabet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x7)
- The eighth letter from the end of the alphabet is S, and therefore the snail received the second prize. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/#x8)

### Note

The word comes from alpha and beta, the first two Greek letters. Adjective: alphabetical. In maths, the alphabet has 26 letters, so the middle is between M (13th) and N (14th). Not all writing systems are alphabets.

## In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In Sefer Yetzirah, the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are the tools God used to make the world, each one carved, weighed and combined. In the primary lessons: In literacy the English alphabet has 26 letters from A to Z: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants (y can act as both). Alphabetical order is used in dictionaries, registers and indexes. Other alphabets: Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic. Phrases: «alphabet song», «in alphabetical order».

### Examples

- Drawing the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet around the edge of a circle, it takes 231 lines, here called שְׁעָרִים sheʽarim ‘gates’, to connect every possible combination of 2 letters. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/A/alphabet/#x1)
- 7:1 Thus for instance, they imagined that the name of Jehovah, יהוי, is by reversing the alphabet; מצפץ (mzpz); mem signifies the letter jod, zaddi, the letter he, and pe, the letter wav. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/A/alphabet/#x2)
- ") See -Alphabet of Ben Sira", ed. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/A/alphabet/#x3)

### Note

The word comes from alpha and beta, the first two Greek letters. Adjective: alphabetical. In maths, the alphabet has 26 letters, so the middle is between M (13th) and N (14th). Not all writing systems are alphabets.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «alphabet» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alphabet/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«alphabet» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/alphabet.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «alphabet» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/A/alphabet/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«alphabet» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/alphabet.html) on Mova free.