Omicron
/ˈoʊməˌkɹɑn/ name, noun
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 15th discovered major variant of a disease. capitalized, sometimes
"Your Majestie knows that unfortunate I [...] was the first who when I published my Poem of Italia Liberata endeavoured to bring the Omicron, Eupselon, Omega, and other Greek Letters, which I thought very requisite for that language, into my own Tongue;"
- 2 Ellipsis of Omicron variant. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable
- 3 Ellipsis of Omicron variant. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable
- 4 Alternative form of omicron (Greek letter) (especially in the majuscule form) alt-of, alternative, countable
- 5 the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 Ellipsis of Omicron Hill: a mountain in North Slope borough, Alaska, United States. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Thanks to covid-19, we'll eventually learn the Greek alphabet. The letter of the month is omicron."
Etymology
From Latin omicron, from Koine Greek ὂ μῑκρόν (ò mīkrón, “little o”), named in contrast with omega (“big o”). The uncommon form omicra is similarly borrowed from Latin and Greek. The use for designating stars in a constellation—typically in order of apparent brightness—began with Johann Bayer's 1603 Uranometria.