Alfabetiskt

Alfabetiskt is a term used in languages that employ the Latin alphabet to describe something arranged according to the order of letters in the alphabet. It is commonly applied to lists, indexes, catalogs, and search results that are sorted from A to Z or by the initial letters of entries. When something is described as alfabetiskt, it implies a systematic, letter-by-letter ordering rather than by other criteria such as date, frequency, or importance.

In common usage within Scandinavian languages, alfabetisk describes the attribute of being alphabetically organized, while alfabetiskt functions as the adverb meaning alphabetically. For example, a alfabetiskt sorted directory is arranged so that entries follow the sequence of letters in the applicable alphabet, often from the first to the last letter, with language-specific collating rules taken into account. Collation may also handle diacritics and language-specific letters, such as å, ä, and ö in Swedish, which can affect the exact ordering.

Etymology traces alfabetiskt to the word alphabet, which itself derives from the Greek alphabētos, formed from alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, and ultimately from Phoenician origins. The term has parallels in many languages that describe alphabetical ordering and is widely used in contexts such as libraries, databases, dictionaries, and information systems to indicate a predictable, letter-based arrangement.

Related concepts include alfabetisk ordning (alphabetical order), alfabetisk sortering (alphabetical sorting), and the broader notion of collation, which governs how strings are ordered in a given language.