Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun linguistics A writing system, similar to a syllabary, in which each symbol represents a consonant with a particular vowel. Some languages that use abugidas are Amharic, Hindi, Burmese, Cree and Ojibwe (Canadian Aboriginal syllabics). An abugida is a kind of syllabary in which the vowel is changed by modifying the base consonant symbol, so that all the forms that represent a given consonant plus each vowel resemble one another.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Adapted by Peter T. Daniels from Ge'ez አቡጊዳ (a-bu-gi-da), the name of its own script, based on the Greek alphabet order (Α, Β, Γ, Δ).

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  • Wikipedia: "An abugida (pronounced /ˌɑ�?bu�?ˈɡi�?də/, from Ge‘ez ’äbugida or Amharic ’abugida) is a segmental writing system which is based on consonants but in which vowel notation is obligatory. About half the writing systems in the world are abugidas, including the extensive Brahmic family of scripts used in South and Southeast Asia."

    August 5, 2008