noun · neuter
alpha
alpha n (indeclinable)
Classical[ˈaɫ.pʰa]Ecclesiastical[ˈal.fa]
Meaning
- indeclinableneuteralpha
alpha, n. indecl., = ἄλφα,
I. the Greek name of the first letter of the alphabet:
hoc discunt ante alpha et beta, before their letters, before they learn to read, Juv. 14, 209. —Hence, prov., the first in any thing (as beta was the second): alpha paenulatorum ... beta togatorum, Mart. 5, 26; so by character instead of name: Ego sum Α et Ω, principium et finis, Vulg. Apoc. 1, 8; 21, 6; 22, 13.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
alpha n
indecl., ἄλφα, the first letter of the Greek alphabet: hoc discunt ante alpha et beta, i. e. before the alphabet, Iu.
Origins
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha).