The English alphabet is a Latin-script alphabet consisting of 26 letters, each having an upper- and lower-case form. The word "alphabet" is a compound of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. The English language itself was first written in the Anglo-Saxon futhorc runic alphabet, in use from the 5th century. The Latin alphabet, which is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world, is the standard script of the English language and the languages of most of Europe and those areas settled by Europeans. The English alphabet derives most of its letter symbols from the Latin language. Therefore, the English alphabet is called a Latin alphabet.