Abecedarian is an archaic and extinct English word that began being used during the 1600s. See if you can guess the etymology of this unusual English word after learning the meaning.

Abecedarian Meaning

Abecedarian (noun):

1. person or book that teaches the alphabet
2. someone learning the alphabet
3. of or relating to the alphabet
4. alphabetically arranged

Abecedarian (adjective)

1. rudimentary or basic

Etymology of Abecedarian

Abecedarian comes from the late Latin word abecedārius meaning alphabetical. As you can see, the word was formed from the first four letters of the alphabet A, B, C, and D, and adding the suffix -arius, which meant of or relating to. The English word originally referred to someone learning the basics of something, and specifically to someone learning the alphabet. Sometimes, the word was used as an adjective to mean something like ‘fundamental.’

An abecedarian hymn was a composition in which each verse or portion of a verse began with a different letter of the alphabet.

There was also a sect of anabaptists called abecedarians who condemned all learning except that of the Scripture. They were even opposed to learning the alphabet, hence their nickname. The anabaptists were the protestant version of a radical 16th-century movement that believed that only adult believers should be church members and baptized, the separation of church and state, and nonresistance.

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