alpenstock

[Ger. Alpen = the Alps; stock stick.] A staff used by an explorer to aid him in ascending the Alps or other mountains. ăl'-phạ, s. [Gr. ἄλφα ( alpha ).] A. Ordinary Language: 1. Lit. The first letter of the Greek alphabet. As a Greek numeral, it stands for 1; or marked thus (4) for 1,000. 2. Figuratively : (a) The Being of all others first existent. (Applied to Christ.) "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. -Rev . 1. 11. (b) Combined with omega , and applied to things, it means the first and the last, the supreme aim, or the sum total; as "Ambition was the very alpha and omega of his existence." B. Technically : 1. Astron.: Alpha (a) and the other Greek letters are used to catalogue the stars in the several constellations, even though some of them may have Arabic or other distinctive names. Alpha (a) stands for the brightest star. This method of indicating the stars in each constellation in the order of their brilliancy was first introduced by Bayer, a German astronomer, in the 17th century. It is still retained in modern star-maps and catalogues. 2. Chem.: Alpha , or a, is used to distinguish one of the modifications of the same compound, as Alpha-cymic acid: A monatomic aromatic acid, C11 H1402, formed by the action of caustic alkalies on cymyl cyanide. Alpha-orsellic acid : C16H1407, obtained from the South American variety of Roccella tinct or i a . Alpha- toluic acid: C6H5. CH2.CO.OH, a monatomic, crystalline, aromatic acid, melting at 76.5°. It is prepared by boiling benzyl cyanide with strong potash solution as long as ammonia is liberated. Alpha - xylic acid: C6H4(CH3). CH2. CO.OH, a crystalline, aromatic, monatomic acid, obtained by boiling xylyl chloride with K(CN), and boiling the resulting xylyl cyanide with potash. ǎl-pha-bět, s . [In Dut., Ger., & Fr. alphabet ; Sw. and Dan. alfabet ; Sp. and Ital. alfa be to ; Port. alpha be to ; Later Lat. of Tertullian (about 195 A.D.) and of Jerome (about the end of the fourth century) alpha be tum ; Gr. of Epiphanius (about 320 A.D.) ἀλφάβητος ( alphabētos ), from Gr. ἄλφα ( alpha ) = the first, and βῆτα ( bēta ), the second letter of the Greek alphabet. A table or list of characters which stand as the signs of particular sounds. Koppe in 1819, and Gesenius in 1837, with much probability, traced back most of the chief Syro-Arabian alphabets, and nearly all those current in Europe, to the ancient Phœnician one. The latter investigator constructed an elaborate table of their complex affinities. The square Hebrew now used in printing figures in this table as a descendant of the old Aramæan, modified by the influence of the Palmyrene letters. The old Greek characters are a primary offshoot from the earliest Phœnician, and the Roman letters are modifications of the Greek alphabet. Perhaps the old Phœnician alphabet itself may have been altered from the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and they again from picture writing like that by means of which the ancient Mexicans on the coast sent to their government an intimation that white men (Spaniards) had landed in their country. [HIEROGLYPHICS.] Other families or groupe of alphabets exist besides those now indicated. The cuneiform letters of Babylon, As syria, Persia, ., are not closely akin to these now described, and appear independent. [ARROW-HEADED, CUNEIFORM.] The alphabets of all the modern languages of India have apparently been derived from one common character-the Devanagari. Inscriptions in caves, on seals, ., show an older form of this than that to which one is accustomed in ordinary Sanscrit books. It does not seem to have sprung from the Phoenician. [DEVANAGAKI.] Similarly independent of the latter tongue and of each other are the Chinese characters, the Mexican or Aztec alphabet, and that of Yucatan. Other groups may yet be discovered, and some of those already known may be affiliated together. It will be observed that any division of mankind formed on similarity or di imilarity of their alphabets would be of an artificial kind: it is mainly on philology, physiology, and history that a IMG:content-0412.jpg:[graphic] IMG:content-0413.jpg:[graphic] IMG:content-0414.png:[blocks in formation]