Search the Dictionary

Employing one hand; as, the one-hand alphabet. See Dactylology.

the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a nonvocal consonant whose form and value come from the Latin, into which language the letter was brought, through the ancient Greek, from the Phonician, its probable origin being Egyptian. Etymologically P is most closely related to b, f, and v; as hobble, hopple; fathe…

A pentacle or a pentalpha. "Like a wizard pentagram." Tennyson.

ting one sound only; -- contrasted with Romanic spelling, or that by the use of the Roman alphabet.

s; (2) Syllabic signs, which stand for the articulations of which words are composed; (3) Alphabetic signs, or letters, which represent the elementary sounds into which the syllable can be resolved. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

Of or pertaining to phonotypy; as, a phonotypic alphabet.

and MMe. Curie in pitchblende. It is closely related chemically to bismuth. It emits only alpha rays and is perhaps identical with radium F.

Implying privation or negation; giving a negative force to a word; as, alpha privative; privative particles; -- applied to such prefixes and suffixes as a- (Gr. un-, non-, -less.

, the seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, has but one sound (that of k), and is always followed by u, the two letters together being sounded like kw, except in some words in which the u is silent. See Guide to Pronunciation, § 249. Q is not found in Anglo-Saxon, cw being used instead of qu; as in cwic, quick; c…

R, the eighteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal consonant. It is sometimes called a semivowel, and a liquid. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 178, 179, and 250-254. "R is the dog's letter and hurreth in the sound." B. Jonson.

temperature than their surroundings, and for their radiations, which are of three kinds: alpha rays, beta rays, and gamma rays (see these terms). By reason of these rays they ionize gases, affect photographic plates, cause sores on the skin, and produce many other striking effects. Their degree of activity depends on…

with which it is expressed; to peruse; as, to read a discourse; to read the letters of an alphabet; to read figures; to read the notes of music, or to read music; to read a book. Redeth [read ye] the great poet of Itaille. Chaucer. Well could he rede a lesson or a story. Chaucer.

y of the Romanic tongues. Romanic spelling, spelling by means of the letters of the Roman alphabet, as in English; -- contrasted with phonetic spelling.

ounds, proposed by Mr. Sweet; -- so called because it is based on the common Roman-letter alphabet. It is like the palæotype of Mr. Ellis in the general plan, but simpler.

the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a consonanat, and is often called a sibilant, in allusion to its hissing sound. It has two principal sounds; one a more hissing, as in sack, this; the other a vocal hissing (the same as that of z), as in is, wise. Besides these it sometimes has the sounds of sh and zh,…

first attention to phrases and sentences and later analyzing these into their verbal and alphabetic components; -- contrasted with alphabet and word methods.

ntaining the Greek version of the ordinance, has recently been discovered. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

The expressing of the sounds of a language by syllables, rather than by an alphabet or by signs for words. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

The art or practice of rapid writing; shorthand writing; stenography. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

A letter of the Greek alphabet corresponding to th in English; -- sometimes called the unlucky letter, from being used by the judges on their ballots in passing condemnation on a prisoner, it being the first letter of the Greek qa`natos, death. Theta function (Math.), one of a group of functions used in developing the…