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Alphabet

4 stages from Phoenician to English.

Today it means the set of letters used to write a language

Where does the word "alphabet" come from? It comes from Phoenician ʾālep, bēt, passing through Greek and Late Latin before entering English (1500s).

ʾālep, bēt→alphabētos→alphabetum→alphabet

Phoenician · ancient

the first two letters, meaning ox and house; the Greek letters came from this script

Greek · ancient

joined the first two letters, alpha and beta; Greeks adopted the Phoenician script through trade contact around 800 BC, and Herodotus credited the Phoenician Cadmus with bringing the letters

Late Latin · ancient

used by Christian writers such as Tertullian

English · 1500s

"set of letters"

replaced the older English 'ABC'

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Read the full story

Alphabet’s story begins in Phoenician: ʾālep, bēt meant “ox, house.” The first two letters, meaning ox and house; the Greek letters came from this script. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Greek as alphabētos. Joined the first two letters, alpha and beta; Greeks adopted the Phoenician script through trade contact around 800 BC, and Herodotus credited the Phoenician Cadmus with bringing the letters. From there it passed into Late Latin as alphabetum by ancient. Used by Christian writers such as Tertullian. It reached English by 1500s as alphabet. Replaced the older English 'ABC'. Today, alphabet means the set of letters used to write a language.