al·pha·bet 
(ălfə-bĕt′, -bĭt)
(ălfə-bĕt′, -bĭt)n.
1. The letters of a language, arranged in the order fixed by custom.
2. A system of characters or symbols representing sounds or things.
3. A set of basic parts or elements: "genetic markers ... that contain repeated sequences of the DNA alphabet"(Sandra Blakeslee).
[Middle English alphabete, from Latin alphabētum, from Greek alphabētos : alpha, alpha; see ALPHA + bēta, beta; see BETA.]
alphabet
alphabet