sigma

See also: Sigma

English

Ancient Greek Alphabet

← rho		→ tau
Σ σ ς Ancient Greek: σίγμα
Wikipedia article on sigma

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σῖγμα (sîgma), σίγμα (sígma), probably from the root sig- as seen in σίζω (sízō) (< sig-yo "to hiss") + -μα (-ma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɡmə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪɡmə

Noun

sigma (plural sigmas or sigmata)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets, the twentieth letter of Old and Ancient.
   • "Herodotus: On The Customs of the Persians", I.139:
     • Their names, which are expressive of some bodily or mental excellence, all end with the same letter---the letter which is called San by the Dorians, and Sigma by the Ionians.
2. (mathematics) The symbol Σ, used to indicate summation of a set or series.
3. (statistics) The symbol σ, used to indicate one standard deviation from the mean, particularly in a normal distribution.
   • 2011, Paul Rincon, (bbc.co.uk) LHC: Higgs boson 'may have been glimpsed'

     None of the spikes seen by the experiments is at much more than the "two sigma" level of certainty.
     A level of "five sigma" is required to claim a discovery, meaning there is less than a one in a million chance the data spike is down to a statistical fluke.

Derived terms

• sigma darner (Austroaeschna sigma)
• sigmalike
• within one sigma: the range from the mean, plus or minus one standard deviation, usually covering 68% of the data points in a normal distribution
• sigma male

Translations

letter of the Greek alphabet

• Arabic: سِيغْمَا‎ (ar) f (sīḡmā)

  Hijazi Arabic: سِقْما‎ (sigma)

• Catalan: sigma (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 西格瑪 (zh), 西格马 (zh) (xīgémǎ)

• Czech: sigma n
• Dutch: sigma (nl) m
• Esperanto: sigmo (eo)
• Finnish: sigma (fi)
• French: sigma (fr) m
• Galician: sigma (gl) m
• German: Sigma (de) n
• Greek: σίγμα (el) n (sígma)

  Ancient: σῖγμα n (sîgma)

• Hebrew: סִיגְמָא‎ f (sígma)
• Hungarian: szigma
• Interlingua: sigma
• Japanese: シグマ (shiguma)
• Korean: 시그마 (ko) (sigeuma)
• Malay: sigma
• Maori: hikama
• Persian: سیگما‎ (fa) (sigmâ)
• Polish: sigma (pl) f
• Portuguese: sigma (pt) m
• Russian: си́гма (ru) f (sígma)
• Slovak: sigma n
• Spanish: sigma (es) f
• Swedish: sigma (sv)
• Thai: ซิกมา (sík-mâa)

Anagrams

• Magis., agism, migas

---

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin sigma.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡ.mə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡ.ma/

Noun

sigma f (plural sigmes)

1. Sigma; the Greek letter Σ (lowercase σ or ς).
2. (anatomy) sigmoid colon

Derived terms

• sigmàtic
• sigmatisme

Related terms

• sigmoide

Further reading

• “sigma” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

---

Czech

Noun

sigma n

1. sigma

---

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately form Ancient Greek σῖγμα (sîgma). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪx.maː/
• Hyphenation: sig‧ma

Noun

sigma f (plural sigma's)

1. sigma (letter of the Greek alphabet)

Derived terms

• sigmatisch

---

Finnish

Etymology

< Ancient Greek σίγμα (sígma)

Greek letter

Σσ	Previous:	rhoo
	Next:	tau

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡmɑ/, [ˈs̠iɡmɑ]
• Rhymes: -iɡmɑ
• Syllabification^(key): sig‧ma

Noun

sigma

1. sigma (Greek letter)

Declension

Inflection of sigma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		sigma	sigmat
genitive		sigman	sigmojen
partitive		sigmaa	sigmoja
illative		sigmaan	sigmoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		sigma	sigmat
accusative	nom.	sigma	sigmat
	gen.	sigman
genitive		sigman	sigmojen sigmainrare
partitive		sigmaa	sigmoja
inessive		sigmassa	sigmoissa
elative		sigmasta	sigmoista
illative		sigmaan	sigmoihin
adessive		sigmalla	sigmoilla
ablative		sigmalta	sigmoilta
allative		sigmalle	sigmoille
essive		sigmana	sigmoina
translative		sigmaksi	sigmoiksi
instructive		—	sigmoin
abessive		sigmatta	sigmoitta
comitative		—	sigmoineen

Possessive forms of sigma (type kala)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	sigmani	sigmamme
2nd person	sigmasi	sigmanne
3rd person	sigmansa

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siɡ.ma/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

sigma m (plural sigma)

1. sigma (Greek letter)

Further reading

• “sigma”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

---

Icelandic

Noun

sigma f (genitive singular sigmu, nominative plural sigmur)

1. sigma (Greek letter)

Declension

declension of sigma

f-w1	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	sigma	sigman	sigmur	sigmurnar
accusative	sigmu	sigmuna	sigmur	sigmurnar
dative	sigmu	sigmunni	sigmum	sigmunum
genitive	sigmu	sigmunnar	sigma	sigmanna

---

Italian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σῖγμα (sîgma), σίγμα (sígma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡ.ma/
• Rhymes: -iɡma
• Hyphenation: sìg‧ma

Noun

sigma m or f (invariable)

1. sigma, specifically:
   1. The name of the Greek-script letter Σ/σ, ς
   2. (mathematics) The symbol Σ, used to indicate summation of a set or series.
   3. (statistics) The symbol σ, used to indicate one standard deviation from the mean, specifically in a normal distribution.

Derived terms

• sigmatismo/sigmacismo

Noun

sigma m (invariable)

1. (anatomy) sigmoid colon

Anagrams

• sgami

---

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σῖγμα (sîgma), from Phoenician 𐤔‬‎ (š‬ /šīn/).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡ.ma/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iɡma
• Syllabification: sig‧ma

Noun

sigma f

1. sigma (Greek letter Σ, σ/ς)
2. (mathematics) sigma (symbol Σ, used to indicate summation of a set or series)

Declension

Declension of sigma

	singular	plural
nominative	sigma	sigmy
genitive	sigmy	sigm
dative	sigmie	sigmom
accusative	sigmę	sigmy
instrumental	sigmą	sigmami
locative	sigmie	sigmach
vocative	sigmo	sigmy

Further reading

• sigma in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• sigma in Polish dictionaries at PWN

---

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɡi.mɐ/, /ˈsiɡ.mɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɡi.mɐ/, /ˈsiɡ.mɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡ.ma/, /ˈsi.ɡi.ma/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɡmɐ/ [ˈsi.ɣmɐ]

Noun

sigma m (plural sigmas)

1. sigma (name of the Greek letter Σ, σ)

---

Romanian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σῖγμα (sîgma) or French sigma.

Noun

sigma m (plural sigma)

1. sigma (Greek letter)

Declension

Declension of sigma

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) sigma	sigmaul	(niște) sigma	sigmai
genitive/dative	(unui) sigma	sigmaului	(unor) sigma	sigmalor
vocative	sigmaule		sigmalor

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡma/, [ˈsiɣ̞.ma]

Noun

sigma f (plural sigmas)

1. sigma; the Greek letter Σ, σ

Further reading

• “sigma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014