▪ I.ABC,n.|ˌeɪˌbiːˈsiː|4–; also written as a word: 3–6 abece; 5 apece, apecy, apsie; 6 apcie, absee, absie, absey, abeesee; 5–7 abce; 6–7 abcie; 7 abcee, a-bee-cee.(These names were most frequent in sense 3.) The first three letters of the alphabet; hence1.The alphabet itself.[So inOFr.A B C, abece.]1297R.Glouc.266He was more þan ten ȝer old, ar he couþe ys abece.
1356WyclifLast Age 28Euery lettre in þe abece may be souned wiþ opyn mouþ save .m. lettre one.
1387TrevisaHigden VI. 259 (RollsSer.)He founded as meny abbayes as beþ lettres in þe A B C[in alphabeto].
c1394Piers Pl. Crede 9A and all myn A B C After have I lerned.
1440Prompt. Parv.A-pece apecy[1499 abce]alphabetum, abecedarium.
a1520Myrroure of Our Ladye 139There is xxii letters in the Abce of hebrew.
1573CooperThesaurus,Abecedarium, -rii An Absee.
1611Florio,Abecè the A B C or Criscrosse-row.
1653UrquhartRabelais i. xiv,Master Tubal Holophernes, who taught him his A B C, so well that he could say it by heart backwards.
1781CowperConvers. 14Sorting and puzzling with a deal of glee Those seeds of science called his A B C.
a1845HoodHuggins & Duggins 5I'd carve her name on every tree, But I don't know my A B C.
†2.An alphabetical acrostic; a poem of which the successive stanzas, or lines, begin with the letters of the alphabet in order. Obs.c1382WyclifJeremiah, Prologue 10In Jewere onli and Beniamyn he profeciede, and of his citee the fallingus with fourfold abece he weilede.
c1430The A B C of Aristotle (1868)Whoso wilneþ to be wiys, & worschip desiriþ, Lerne he oo lettir, & looke on anoþir Of þe a b c of Aristotill: argue not aȝen þat.
1597SpeghtEdn. of Chaucer (title)Chaucers A B C, called La Prière de Nostre Dame.
1855Bell's Chaucer VI. 125The A B C is a prayer to the Blessed Virgin somewhat in the manner of an acrostic. It consists of twenty-three stanzas, each of which begins with one of the letters of the alphabet, arranged in their order.[It is atransl.of the French hymn in Pilgr. of the Lyfe of Man.]
3.A spelling-book, or primer, teaching the alphabet and first elements of reading (Obs.); hence fig.the first principles, most elementary part, or simplest rudiments (of any subject).c1400Poem in Reliq.Antiq.I. 63Quan a chyld to scole xal set be, A bok hym is browt, Naylyd on a brede of tre, That men callyt an abece.
1571Wills &Inv.North. Count. (SurteesSoc.) II. 362,xiiij doss' paprlatten abeesees iijs vjd—iiij doss' abeesees in p'chment ijs.
1579TomsonCalvin's Sermons 22/1When he gaue vs his worde, hee did not giue vs an A. b. c. onely, but hee taught vs with open mouth.
1583GoldingCalvin on Deuteron.Serm.xix. 110. 27 a,Wee abide still at our Absie, and wot not what rule or doctrine meaneth.
a1593H. SmithSermons 252This is the Abce, and Primmer, and Grammar, the first lesson and last lesson of a Christian.
1637Decree of StarChamb.§10 (Arber's Areop. 14)Any Bibles, Testaments..Primers, Abcees, or other booke or books.
1641MiltonAnimadv. (1851) 204To tutor their unsoundnesse with the Abcie of a Liturgy.
1879FarrarSt.Paul II. 152 note,The notion may be that ritualism is only the elementary teaching, the A B C of religion.
4.attrib., as in ABC-book or abcee-book, absey-book, primer, horn-book; an introductory book to any subject, often in catechism or dialogue form. So ABC-scholar, ABC-learner, ABC-teacher; ABC (=Alphabetical) Railway Guide (also absol.).1595Shakes.John i. i. 196I begin ‘I shall beseech you’; that is question now, And then comes answer like an Absey booke: ‘O sir,’ sayes answer, ‘at your best command.’
1611Florio,Abecedario, a teacher or learner of A B C; also a horne-booke, or A-bee-cee-booke.
1440Prompt. Parv.Apece lerner, or he þat lernythe þe abece. Alphabeticus, abecedarius.
1580–95MundayJohn à Kent etc. 60Which a meere abce scholler in the arte Can doo it with the least facilitie.
1632Sherwood,An Abcee-learner or teacher, Abecedaire (Fr.)
1853(title)A.B.C. or Alphabetical Railway Guide.
1917W. P. RidgeAmazing Years iii. 41,I found an A.B.C. and selected a train.
1936A. ChristieABC Murders iv. 31A railway guide, you say. A Bradshaw—or an ABC?
▸ Used as the type of something elementary or straightforward,esp.in as easy (also plain, simple, etc.) as ABC.1689J. FarewellIrish Hudibras 22To go's, as plain as A, B, C; But Back's all the Concavity.
1793Times 4 Mar. 4/1Individuals..not understanding the principles of Drilling, nor even attending to the directions laid down, though plain as A. B. C.
1867Arthur's HomeMag.Nov. 294/1Why I can tell in a moment... It's as easy as A, B, C.
1888N. PerryFlock of Girls 128Marigold was stupid on..some points that to the keen, practical girl..seem like A, B, C.
1952Los Angeles Times 30 Jan. iii. 1/6True elegance appears to be as simple as ABC in John Carter's spring millinery collection.
2006Centralian Advocate (Austral.) (Nexis) 18 Aug. (Lifestyle section) 38Changing from an unhealthy to a healthy lifestyle is as easy as ABC.
▪ II.ABCor abee-cee is even found as avb.‘to say the alphabet.’1611Florio,Abecedáre, to alphabet or abee-cee.
a1845HoodMy Son & Heir 12A coppersmith I can't endure—Nor petty usher A B C-ing.
▪ III.ABCA process in making artificial manure.1879E. G. Bartholomew inCassell's Tech.Educ.I. 115The A B C is a patented process, and obtains its name from the three initial letters of the three principal ingredients..alum, blood, and clay.
