Alif (or alef or aleph, transliterated) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads (alphabets), including Phoenician ʾālep 𐤀, Hebrew ʾālef א, Aramaic ʾālap 𐡀, Syriac ʾālap̄ ܐ, and Arabic alif  ا. 

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It is something that is first, a beginning.

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See also: baseline, ​birth, commencement, dawn, day one, genesis, get-go, inception, ​kickoff, launch, morning,  start, threshold

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