alphabétique

Forms

alphabétique (plural alphabétiques)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin alphabēticus (“arranged in the order of the alphabet”), a word used by Saint Jerome of a psalm.^[2] The Robert dictionaries, the GLLF and Bloch and Wartburg instead treat it as a French derivative of alphabet with the suffix -ique.^[3][4][5][6] Wiktionary combines the two views, taking the Middle French alphabetique from Latin while describing it as equivalent to the French derivative.^[1] The noun is from Late Latin alphabētum, a compound of the names of the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume Tardif's translation of Lorenzo Valla's Apologie (15th century) has tableau alphabétique, a table “made in the order of the alphabet”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has mostly expressed the order of the letters, in phrases such as index alphabétique and dictionnaire alphabétique.^[7] From 1542 it also qualified what belongs to the alphabet itself: Du Pinet's translation of Pliny speaks of lettres alphabetiques brought by the Pelasgians.^[2] Rey dates its use for the nature of a writing system to 1791, as in écriture alphabétique, a script that notes single sounds by letters.^[7][4]

The idea of order also dominates its derivatives: alphabétiquement (1615) and alphabétiser (1853), which in the 20th century came to mean “to teach reading and writing to”.^[7]

Timeline

• 15th century – Guillaume Tardif uses it of a table in alphabetical order.^[2]
• 1542 – Du Pinet uses it for what belongs to the alphabet.^[2]
• 1615 – The adverb alphabétiquement is recorded.^[7]
• 1791 – It is used of the nature of a writing system.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to or based on the alphabet: écriture alphabétique, a script that notes each phoneme with letters.^[6][8][4]
2. Arranged in the order of the alphabet, alphabetical: ordre alphabétique, table alphabétique des matières.^[6][9][1]

Related words

• alphabet
• Late Latin alphabēticus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette