азбука

Inherited from Old East Slavic азъбукꙑ (azŭbuky); borrowed from Old Church Slavonic азъбоукꙑ (azŭbuky), from the names of the first two letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, азъ +‎ боукꙑ, a calque of Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos). Compare Russian а́збука (ázbuka).

• IPA^(key): [ˈazbuka]

• Audio:

  (file)

а́збука • (ázbuka) f inan (genitive а́збукі, nominative plural а́збукі, genitive plural а́збук)

2. alphabet (the set of letters used when writing in a language)

   Synonym: алфаві́т (alfavít)

   • 1940 [1861], Charles Dickens, anonymous translator, Вялікія чаканні, Minsk: ДВБ, translation of Great Expectations, page 57:

     Атрымаўшы гэтую ўзнагароду з відавочнай насмешкай, вучні выстрайваліся ў лінію і з шумам перадавалі з рук у рукі абшарпаную кніжку. У кніжцы былі: азбука, табліца множання і склады, гэта значыць некалі былі.

     Atrymaŭšy hetuju ŭznaharódu z vidavóčnaj nasmješkaj, vučni vystrajvalisja ŭ liniju i z šumam pjeradavali z ruk u ruki abšarpanuju knižku. U knižcy byli: azbuka, tablica mnóžannja i sklady, heta značycʹ njekali byli.

     [original: After receiving the charge with every mark of derision, the pupils formed in line and buzzingly passed a ragged book from hand to hand. The book had an alphabet in it, some figures and tables, and a little spelling,—that is to say, it had had once.]

     After receiving this reward with every mark of derision, the pupils formed in line and buzzingly passed a ragged book from hand to hand. The book had an alphabet in it, a multiplication table, and a little spelling,—that is to say, it had had once.

4. ABC book, primer (a children's book intended to teach literacy)

   Synonyms: буква́р (bukvár), леманта́р (ljemantár)

   • 1940 [1861], Charles Dickens, anonymous translator, Вялікія чаканні, Minsk: ДВБ, translation of Great Expectations, page 36:

     З дапамогаю азбукі, якая ляжала для справак на падлозе ля маіх ног, мне ўдалося гадзіны за дзве надрапаць друкаванымі літарамі наступнае пасланне: «мІл моІ Жо СПодзяЮс ты зДароф [...]».

     Z dapamóhaju azbuki, jakaja ljažala dlja spravak na padlózje lja maix noh, mnje ŭdalósja hadziny za dzvje nadrapacʹ drukavanymi litarami nastupnaje paslannje: “mIl móI Žo SPódzjaJus ty zDaróf [...]”.

     [original: With an alphabet on the hearth at my feet for reference, I contrived in an hour or two to print and smear this epistle:—“MI DEER JO i OPE U R KRWITE WELL [...].”]

     With an ABC book on the hearth at my feet for reference, I contrived in an hour or two to scribble the following epistle in block letters:—“MI DEER JO i OPE U R KRWITE WELL [...].”

5. ABC, basics (the fundamentals of any subject)

   Synonym: асно́ва (asnóva)

• Zhurawski, A. I., editor (1982), “азбука”, in Гістарычны слоўнік беларускай мовы [Historical Dictionary of the Belarusian Language] (in Belarusian), numbers 1 (а – биенье), Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika, page 83
• “азбука” in Belarusian–Russian dictionaries and Belarusian dictionaries at slounik.org
• "азбука" in Kandrat Krapiva's Explanatory Dictionary of the Belarusian Language (1977-1984) at Verbum

Inherited from Old Church Slavonic азъбоукꙑ (azŭbuky), from the names of the first two letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, азъ (azŭ) +‎ боукꙑ (buky), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos).

• IPA^(key): [ˈazbokɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

а́збука • (ázbuka) f (relational adjective а́збучен)

1. alphabet

   Synonyms: (archaic) алфави́та (alfavíta), (archaic) алфави́т (alfavít)

   Бъ́лгарската а́збука ― Bǎ́lgarskata ázbuka ― The Bulgarian alphabet

• а́збучник (ázbučnik)

• “азбука”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “азбука”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “а̀збука”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 5
• “азбука”, in Български тълковен речник [Bulgarian Explanatory Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), fourth edition, Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo, 2005, page 20

• IPA^(key): [ˈazbuka]

• Audio:

  (file)

азбука • (azbuka) f (relational adjective азбучен)

1. alphabet

• азбука in Makedonisch Info (germansko-makedonski rečnik, makedonsko-germanski rečnik)

Inherited from Old East Slavic азъбукꙑ (azŭbuky); borrowed from Old Church Slavonic азъбоукꙑ (azŭbuky), from the names of the first two letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, азъ (azŭ) +‎ боукꙑ (buky), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos).

• IPA^(key): [ˈazbʊkə]

• Audio:

  (file)

а́збука • (ázbuka) f inan (genitive а́збуки, nominative plural а́збуки, genitive plural а́збук, relational adjective а́збучный, diminutive а́збучка)

1. alphabet

   Synonym: алфави́т (alfavít)

   а́збука Мо́рзе ― ázbuka Mórzɛ ― Morse code

   а́збука Бра́йля ― ázbuka Brájlja ― Braille

   слогова́я а́збука ― slogovája ázbuka ― syllabary

2. ABC book, abecedary; primer

   Synonym: буква́рь (bukvárʹ)

3. ABC (the rudiments of any subject)

   Synonyms: осно́вы (osnóvy), азы́ (azý)

• азбуко́вник m (azbukóvnik)

Phrases

• а́збучная и́стина f (ázbučnaja ístina)

• аз m (az), азы́ m pl (azý)
• бу́ки n (búki), бу́ква f (búkva), буква́рь m (bukvárʹ)

• → Ingrian: azbukka

From initial names of the first letters of Cyrillic alphabet, az (а) and buki (б).

• IPA^(key): /ǎzbuka/
• Hyphenation: аз‧бу‧ка

а̀збука f (Latin spelling àzbuka)

1. (uncountable) alphabet (based on the Cyrillic script)

• “азбука”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Inherited from Old East Slavic азъбукꙑ (azŭbuky); borrowed from Old Church Slavonic азъбоукꙑ (azŭbuky), from the names of the first two letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, азъ (azŭ) +‎ боукꙑ (buky), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos).

Attested 1627, compare язъбука (jazʺbuka) (17–18th century).

• IPA^(key): [ˈazbʊkɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

а́збука • (ázbuka) f inan (genitive а́збуки, nominative plural а́збуки, genitive plural а́збук, relational adjective а́збучний)

1. (dated) alphabet (an ordered set of letters used in a language), especially the old Cyrillic alphabet.

   Synonyms: алфаві́т (alfavít), альфабе́т (alʹfabét), абе́тка (abétka), (dialectal) абе́тло (abétlo)

• а́збучний (ázbučnyj)
• а́збучна війна́ (ázbučna vijná) (historical, proper noun)

• аз (az)
• буква (bukva)

• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “азбука”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “азбука”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• “азбука”, in Горох – Словозміна [Horokh – Inflection] (in Ukrainian)