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Alpha

//ˈælfə// adj, name, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Designates the first in an order of precedence. not-comparable

    "I am the alpha male."

  2. 2
    Exhibiting characteristics of the alpha male/female archetype. not-comparable

    "And thank you. Seriously. I'll call you later. You better. I'm feeling pretty alpha now. Yes, you are."

  3. 3
    Designates some bright star, usually the brightest star, of a constellation. not-comparable

    "When interstellar travel becomes feasible, I plan to visit Alpha Centauri."

  4. 4
    Clipping of alphabetical. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, not-comparable

    "Sort the list in alpha order."

Adjective
  1. 1
    early testing stage of a software or hardware product wordnet
  2. 2
    first in order of importance wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A placename.; A ghost town in California, United States (USA).
  2. 2
    A placename.; A village in Illinois, United States.
  3. 3
    A placename.; A village in Michigan, United States.
  4. 4
    A placename.; A city and village in Minnesota, United States.
  5. 5
    A placename.; A borough of New Jersey, United States.
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    A placename.; A town in Queensland, Australia.
  2. 7
    Former name of the International Space Station.
  3. 8
    A RISC CPU instruction set architecture developed and marketed by Digital Equipment Corporation (then later by Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard) from 1992 until 2004.
Noun
  1. 1
    The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of alpha. alt-of
  3. 3
    the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet wordnet
  4. 4
    Latin alpha: the Latin letter Ɑ (minuscule: ɑ). countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A member of Generation Alpha.

    "They are being partially replaced by a new generation – the Alphas, which cover children aged nine or under and account for 12 per cent of all Australians."

Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    the beginning of a series or sequence wordnet
  2. 7
    The name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix. countable, uncountable

    "I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider."

  3. 8
    The return of a given asset or portfolio adjusted for systematic risk. countable, uncountable

    "Similarly, alphas are 2.33% larger than that of the equivalent monthly alphas using compounded returns while no changes can be found using arithmetic returns."

  4. 9
    A person, especially a male, who is dominant, successful and attractive; (see alpha male). countable, uncountable

    "Being a beta male in a species with alphas doesn't mean you have to sit out the mating game."

  5. 10
    Clipping of alphabet. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, informal, uncountable
  6. 11
    The first versions of a program, usually only available to the developer, and only tested by the developer. countable, uncountable

    "We will assume you got the .tgz version—later 2.x series versions such as 2.5.2 or 2.6.0 should be okay, provided they are production releases (not alphas, betas, or release candidates)."

  7. 12
    An angle of attack. countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    The level of translucency of a color, as determined by the alpha channel. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    Ellipsis of alpha layer. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
  10. 15
    The significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    In omegaverse fiction, a person of a dominant secondary sex driven by biology, magic, or other means to bond with an omega, with males of this type often having canine-like genitalia. countable, slang, uncountable

    "Sometimes the alphas and omegas are rare, sometimes they are only males, sometimes they have altered sex organs."

  12. 17
    Alternative letter-case form of Alpha (“member of Generation Alpha”). alt-of, countable, uncountable

    "Some of these old standards will feel alien to zoomers and alphas."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From the Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”). Doublet of alif and aleph.

Etymology 2

From the Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”). Doublet of alif and aleph.

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