alphabetum

Alphabetum is a Latin noun meaning "the alphabet" or "the set of letters used to write a language." It is neuter and belongs to the second declension (alphabetum, alphabetī). The term derives from Greek alphabetos, via the Latinization alphabetum.

In classical and medieval Latin, alphabetum denotes the alphabet of a language and appears in discussions of writing systems, pedagogy, and lexicography. It is often paired with the synonym abecedarium, a term for a primer that lists letters in order. In scholarly Latin, phrases like alphabetum Graecum or alphabetum Latinum specify particular alphabets.

Influence and cognates: the concept and term have shaped the names of alphabets in many languages. Modern Romance languages retain forms such as alfabeto (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese) and alfabet (Polish), and German and French use Alphabet or alphabet, reflecting the same root from Greek through Latin.

Today, alphabetum is primarily encountered in historical or philological contexts, where scholars discuss the Latin alphabet, other writing systems, or the terminology of primers and grammars. It is less common in everyday language but remains a standard term in Latin linguistic literature.