LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

bēta1

bēta f (genitive bētae)

Meaning

  1. A beet.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebētabētae
genitivebētaebētārum
dativebētaebētīs
accusativebētambētās
ablativebētābētīs
vocativebētabētae

bēta, ae (bētis, is, Ser. Samm. 54, 9), f. hence Fr. bette; Engl. beet,
I. a vegetable, the beet: Beta vulgaris, Linn.; Plin. 19, 8, 40, § 132; 20, 8, 27, § 69; Col. 10, 254; 10, 326; 11, 3, 17 and 42; Pall. Febr. 24, 10; * Plaut. Ps. 3, 2, 26; * Cic. Fam. 7, 26, 2; cf. * Cat. 67, 21; Mart. 13, 13; 3, 47, 9; Isid. Orig. 17, 10, 15.

Origins

Said by some sources to be of Celtic origin, but no obvious Celtic cognates exist; Ernout and Meillet adduce an apparently apocryphal Irish biatuis as cognate. Also compared are blitum (“spinach”), meta (“conic heap of stones”) (compared to the root's spindle form), and less likely, sense 2, with the seed vessel resembling the letter.

Descendants
  • Catalanbleda
  • Catalanbleda-rave
  • Frenchbette
  • Portuguesebeterrabafrom French bette
  • Spanishbetarragafrom French bette
  • Spanishbeterragafrom French bette
  • Spanishbeteravafrom French bette
  • Frenchbetterave
  • Frenchblette
  • Italianbieta
noun · neuter
bēta2
bēta n (indeclinable)

Meaning

  1. indeclinableThe Greek letter beta.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
accusative—bētās

bēta, n. indecl. (beta, ae, f., Aus. Technopaegn. c. Litt. Mon. v. 13), = βῆτα,
I. the Greek name of the second letter of the alphabet (pure Lat. be; v. B): hoc discunt omnes ante alpha et beta puellae, * Juv. 14, 209.—Hence, prov., the second in any thing (as alpha is the first), Mart. 5, 26.

Origins

  1. Proto-Semitic*bayt-
  2. Latinbēta

Phoenician 𐤁𐤕 (bt)bor. Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta)bor. Latin beta Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Quick answers

What does bēta mean in Latin?
bēta, a noun, means “A beet.”.
What is the genitive of bēta?
The genitive singular is bētae. bēta is feminine, first declension.