α

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

	Upper case form
English name alpha
Wikipedia article on α

Contents 1 Translingual 1.1 Etymology 1 1.1.1 Letter 1.1.1.1 Usage notes 1.1.1.2 Derived terms 1.1.1.3 See also 1.2 Etymology 2 1.2.1 Symbol 1.2.1.1 Translations 2 Greek 2.1 Letter 2.1.1 Usage notes 2.1.2 See also

[edit] Translingual

[edit] Etymology 1

Derived from its Ancient Greek majuscule counterpart Α (A), “‘Alpha’”), in turn from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (“‘aleph’”).

[edit] Letter

α (lower case, upper case Α)

1. Lower-case alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet.

[edit] Usage notes

This lower case letter is used to represent Α (A), “‘alpha’”), the first letter of the ancient Greek alphabet. Ancient Greek, however, did not distinguish between upper case and lower case. See Α (A) for details.

[edit] Derived terms

See also alpha.

• α', ,α

[edit] See also

• Next letter: β (b, “‘beta’”)

[edit] Etymology 2

Various abbreviations.

[edit] Symbol

α

1. (electrodynamics) The fine structure constant.
2. (classical mechanics) Represents angular acceleration.

   See Wikipedia article on angular acceleration for usage.

3. (chemistry) Used in chemical nomenclature.

   α-lactam has a three-membered ring structure.

4. (astronomy) Used to identify the brightest star in a constellation, for instance α-Centauri.

[edit] Translations

See alpha for names of this symbol in other languages.

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[edit] Greek

[edit] Letter

α (a) (lower case, upper case Α)

1. Lower-case άλφα (álfa), “‘alpha’”), the first letter of the modern Greek alphabet.

[edit] Usage notes

This letter represents the open front unrounded vowel: IPA: /a/, SAMPA: /A/.

[edit] See also

• Next letter: β (b, “‘beta’”).