Dictionary

alphabetism en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos) Byzantine Greek ἀλφάβητον (alphábēton)der. Classical Latin alphabētumbor. Middle English alphabete English alphabet Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English alphabetism From alphabet + -ism.

Meanings

1. (countable) An initialism: an abbreviation which is read letter by letter, such as UN.
   • Some alphabetisms are written as if they weren't alphabetisms at all, like deejay for DJ, disc jockey, or emcee for MC, master of ceremonies. 2002, Gunnel Tottie, An Introduction To American English, Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN, page 118:
2. (uncountable) The ability to read an alphabet, a rudimentary form of literacy.
   • Some of the activities involved in ... corvée and military needs stimulated the spread of a certain type of minimal alphabetism for inventorying and most likely encouraged the development of a professional scribalism for record-keeping and book-keeping. 2001, Ziony Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches, Continuum International Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 639:
3. (uncountable) Excessive reliance upon the alphabet or alphabetic structures.
   • The answer, I suggest, is that phonemism is rooted in alphabetism. Indeed, many linguists have suggested that there really is a /g/ phoneme at the end of 'fang' and other [ŋ]-final words in English, except that they are not pronounced! 2006, Daniel Doron Silverman, A Critical Introduction to Phonology: Of Sound, Mind and Body, Continuum International Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 208:
4. (uncountable) Discrimination on the basis of the first letter of a name.
   • The injustice of "alphabetism" is, of course, a thorn in the Zitser side, and he playfully promises to assign the problem to "alphabetically neutral" aides. 1983, George F. Will, The Pursuit of Virtue and Other Tory Notions, page 134:

Forms

Relateds

analphabetism · alphabetization

Translations (4)

es alfabetismo (form of discrimination) · fr alphabétisme (form of discrimination) · de Alphabetismus (form of literacy) · sh alfabetizam (form of discrimination)