Word
abecedarian
Phoneticsabecedar·i·an
Definition
n. a person who is just starting to learn how to read and write. It is an old-fashioned word for a beginner in the alphabet.
n. a person who is beginning to learn the alphabet or to read and write. Often used in historical or literary contexts to describe a novice in literacy.
Examples
“The teacher helped the abecedarian recognize the letter A.”
“In the early days of the school, every student was an abecedarian, struggling to master the basics of the alphabet.”
“The manuscript was written in a simple script intended for an abecedarian, using only the most common letters and short, repetitive sentences to aid comprehension.”
Examples
simple
“The teacher helped the abecedarian recognize the letter A.”
contextual
“In the early days of the school, every student was an abecedarian, struggling to master the basics of the alphabet.”
complex
“The manuscript was written in a simple script intended for an abecedarian, using only the most common letters and short, repetitive sentences to aid comprehension.”
Etymology
From Late Latin abecedarius (from the first four letters of the Latin alphabet + -arius). Equivalent to abecedary + -an. Compare abecedary.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/abecedarian