Revised 2012 More entries for "alphabetic"
alphabeticadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective alphabetic mean?
There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective alphabetic. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the adjective alphabetic?
About 0.9occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1750 | 0.033 |
| 1760 | 0.11 |
| 1770 | 0.2 |
| 1780 | 0.25 |
| 1790 | 0.25 |
| 1800 | 0.24 |
| 1810 | 0.28 |
| 1820 | 0.37 |
| 1830 | 0.46 |
| 1840 | 0.51 |
| 1850 | 0.45 |
| 1860 | 0.39 |
| 1870 | 0.39 |
| 1880 | 0.38 |
| 1890 | 0.36 |
| 1900 | 0.35 |
| 1910 | 0.4 |
| 1920 | 0.45 |
| 1930 | 0.48 |
| 1940 | 0.53 |
| 1950 | 0.71 |
| 1960 | 0.88 |
| 1970 | 1.0 |
| 1980 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 0.98 |
| 2000 | 0.89 |
| 2010 | 0.83 |
How is the adjective alphabetic pronounced?
British English
/ˌalfəˈbɛtɪk/
al-fuh-BET-ick
U.S. English
/ˌælfəˈbɛdɪk/
al-fuh-BED-ick
Where does the adjective alphabetic come from?
Earliest known use
mid 1600s
The earliest known use of the adjective alphabetic is in the mid 1600s.
OED's earliest evidence for alphabetic is from 1642, in the writing of James Howell, historian and political writer.
alphabetic is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: French alphabétique; Latin alphabeticus.
Nearby entries
- alpha-adrenergic, adj.1954–
- alphabet, n.?a1475–
- alphabet, v.1671–
- alpha-beta, adj.1914–
- alphabet agency, n.1934–
- alphabetarian, n.1614–
- alphabetary, adj. & n.1569–
- alphabet block, n.1842–
- alphabet book, n.1714–
- alphabeted, adj.1609–
- alphabetic, adj.1642–
- alphabetical, adj.1543–
- alphabetical agency, n.1903–
- alphabetically, adv.1567–
- alphabetical order, n.1567–
- alphabetical organization, n.1892–
- alphabetical psalm, n.1577–
- alphabetics, n.1865–
- alphabetiform, adj.1893–
- alphabeting, n.a1650–
- alphabetism, n.1867–
Meaning & use
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Etymology
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for alphabetic, adj.
alphabetic, adj. was revised in September 2012
alphabetic, adj. was last modified in July 2023
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into alphabetic, adj. in July 2023.
Earlier versions of alphabetic, adj. were published in:
OED First Edition (1884)
OED Second Edition (1989)
Cite
Chicago
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “”, . <>
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