Alphabet

The English name for the collection of letters or written characters in our language, and derived from their Greek synonyms—viz., Alpha (A) + Beta (B), as in the line from Juvenal— “ Hoc discunt omnes ante alpha et beta puellæ. ” —Sat. xiv., l. 209. These letters or characters are the representatives of certain sounds or utterances; and their numbers, forms, names, and equivalents differ very materially in different countries and in different districts. Ballhorn’s “Alpha bete or. und occ. Sprachen,” Leipsig, 1853; 2nd ed., London. See Letters .