alpha; A, α +
(Greek: ; beginning, first of anything; first letter of the Greek alphabet; used in physics and chemistry to designate a variety of series or values)
A type of biofeedback when alpha brain waves (7.5-13.5 cps) are characteristic of relaxed and peaceful wakefulness or the "alpha state":
In alpha wave training, the subject receives information on his or her EEG as a means of achieving a state of relaxation.
In one technique, a tone sounds in the absence of alpha waves and disappears when the subject produces alpha waves.
1. A set of letters, usually listed in a fixed order, used in writing a language and representing its basic speech sounds, such as the Cyrillic alphabet: In school, Lynn learned that the Greek alphabet had only twenty-four letters.
An alphabet is a set of symbols representing units used in communication, especially speech sounds or words.
Word History
Just as English-speaking people refer to their A B C's, using the first three letters to mean the complete list, as a whole, so the Greeks used alpha and beta, their names for "a" and "b", the first two letters. The combination of these two, alpha + beta, is the origin of the English word alphabet.
Someone who is learning his or her alphabet: When little Mary entered school, she was one of many alphabetarians learning the letters of the writing system for the first time.
An alphabetarian can be a beginner in learning the mere rudiments of any subject.
Also, an alphabetarian can be someone who studies alphabets.
alphabetical (adjective) (not comparable)
1. Regarding the arrangement or the listing in the customary order of the letters of the alphabet: Mrs. Lawson, Jim's teacher, told the children to put all the words in the list into alphabetical order starting with the letter "A".
2. Based on, typical of, or relating to an alphabet: All the words in the dictionary are arranged in an alphabetical sequence.
2. Based on, typical of, or relating to an alphabet: All the words in the dictionary are arranged in an alphabetical sequence.
alphabetically (adverb), more alphabetically, most alphabetically
Referring to how an alphabet is arranged in a customary order of the letters "a" to "z": Little Ivy finished writing the list of words alphabetically and showed them to her teacher, Mrs. Rawson.
The result of putting something in alphabetical order (customary order of the letters from "a" to "z"): Greg had to redo the alphabetization of the items because they were not in the correct alphabetical order.
alphabetize (verb), alphabetizes; alphabetized; alphabetizing
1. To arrange articles according to the writing system with a, b, c, d, etc.: Mrs. Smart alphabetized her recipes so that she could find the one she wanted more easily and quickly.
2. To furnish with a system of signals or signs as being equivalent to letters: Some languages, as the Chinese or Japanese, use a method of radical-and-strokes to define or to alphabetize the ordering of the symbols.
2. To furnish with a system of signals or signs as being equivalent to letters: Some languages, as the Chinese or Japanese, use a method of radical-and-strokes to define or to alphabetize the ordering of the symbols.
A person who studies alphabetology:; Mr. Dawson was an alphabetologist who was an expert in the field of letters of a language involving the arrangement or the order fixed by custom, and the system of characters or symbols representing sounds or things.
The study of alphabetic methods of writing: Alphabetology is the science of character sets, including letters which are used to write languages.
alphanumeric (adjective) (not comparable)
Consisting of or using letters (characters A to Z, lowercase and uppercase), numbers (0 to 9), punctuation marks, and mathematical and other conventional symbols: There are alphanumeric codes and then there are also alphanumeric computers that have alphanumeric keyboards.
alphanumerical (adjective), more alphanumerical, most alphanumerical
Of, pertaining to, or referring to alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers): When used with reference to computer input and output, the alphanumerical set usually includes the uppercase and lowercase alphabetic signs (A–Z, a–z), the numeral digits (0–9), and special figures, such as the symbols $, #, %, &, +, *, and @, plus any mathematical notations and punctuation marks.
While typically the phrase "alphabetic characters" means only English letters, an alphanumerical character set may also include letters from other languages that also use the Roman alphabet, such as an e with an acute accent (é) or a c with a cedilla (ç).
Sets that include letters, digits, and punctuation marks: Alphanumerics utilizes alphabetic characters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9, 0), diacritical signs (! , : ; " ?), and other symbols (±, @, #, $, %, &, *, +, ?, ~, /, \).
alphavirus
1. A virus transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause fever, muscle and joint pain, a rash, and occasionally encephalitis.
2. A genus of viruses of the family Togaviridae (family of viruses that cause Western and Eastern equine encephalitis), including eastern, western, and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis viruses, and others that cause dengue-like illnesses in parts of Africa.
2. A genus of viruses of the family Togaviridae (family of viruses that cause Western and Eastern equine encephalitis), including eastern, western, and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis viruses, and others that cause dengue-like illnesses in parts of Africa.
analphabetic (adjective), more analphabetic, most analphabetic
A reference to the inability to read or to write: Mrs. Nelson was concerned about the analphabetic state of some of her students and so she created special lessons for them.
analphabetical (adjective), more analphabetical, most analphabetical
Illiterate: Sad to say, there are many people who are analphabetical and have never learned how to read or write.
