Definitions for Alpha
ˈæl fəAl·pha

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. alpha(noun)

   the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet

2. alpha(adj)

   the beginning of a series or sequence

   "the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end"--Revelations

3. alpha(adj)

   first in order of importance

   "the alpha male in the group of chimpanzees"; "the alpha star in a constellation is the brightest or main star"

4. alpha(adj)

   early testing stage of a software or hardware product

   "alpha version"

Wiktionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. alpha(Noun)

   The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (u0391, u03B1), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A.

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

2. alpha(Noun)

   Latin alpha

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

3. alpha(Noun)

   The name of the symbols u0391 and u03B1 used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix.

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

4. alpha(Noun)

   The return of a given asset or portfolio adjusted for systematic risk.

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

5. alpha(Noun)

   An alpha male.

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

6. alpha(Noun)

   Alphabet.

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

7. alpha(Adjective)

   Designates the first in an order of precedence.

   I am the alpha male.

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

8. alpha(Adjective)

   Designates the brightest star in a constellation.

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

   Etymology: From the , the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician aleph.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Alpha(noun)

   the first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and hence used to denote the beginning

   Etymology: [L. alpha, Gr. 'a`lfa, from Heb. leph, name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox.]

Freebase(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Alpha

   Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 1. It was derived from the Phoenician letter aleph . Letters that arose from alpha include the Latin A and the Cyrillic letter А. In English, the noun "alpha" is used as a synonym for "beginning", or "first", reflecting its Greek roots.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Alpha

   al′fa, n. the first letter of the Greek alphabet: the first or beginning. [Gr. alpha—Heb. aleph, an ox, the name of the first letter of the Phœnician and Hebrew alphabet. See A.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. alpha

   The alpha symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the alpha symbol and its characteristic.

2. alpha

   Song lyrics by alpha -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by alpha on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Alpha' in Nouns Frequency: #2826

How to pronounce Alpha?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say Alpha in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Alpha in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Alpha in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of Alpha in a Sentence

1. Paul Mahagi:

   The two male giraffes were fighting to become the alpha male. Its quite rare to see and really brutal to watch, you could hear the noises of the cracking when they hit their necks.

2. Jaki Brophy:

   We used to grow more alpha hops, but a lot of the popular aromas now are very conducive to this growing area.

3. Marie Budev:

   Joyce Smith said. She had a second chance at life. She knew she had the second chance and she was lucky to have that. For much of her earlier life in Massachusetts, Mellady was hobbled by a mysterious lung condition. Then, in her late 30s, she tested positive foralpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder. The inherited condition predisposes people to lung conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the emphysema Mellady developed before her transplant. The condition is caused by a lack of a protein in the blood called alpha-1 antitrypsin, which protects the lungs from inflammation. When Melladys lungs were replaced in 2007, doctors at theCleveland Clinicsaid they were among the worst they had ever seen, functioning at 15 percent of capacity. Over the next 13 years, Mellady served as an inspiration for other patients about to undergo similar transplants, a source of support for their relatives and a wealth of information for doctors studying her condition. She ended up living more than twice as long on her new lungs as the average 6.3 years for lung transplant patients. Dr. Marie Budev, the medical director of Cleveland Clinics lung and heart-lung transplant program, oversaw Melladys care and said Marie Budev was the first person from the program who died of COVID-19 and second to test positive. In this December 2016 photo provided by Joyce Smith, Joanne Mellady and Joyce Smith dog Oscar sled down the driveway of Joyce Smith home in Washington, N.H. Mellady, who received a double lung transplant in 2007, died of the coronavirus on March 30, 2020. Joyce Smith was 67. That scared Budev because transplant recipients are seen as particularly vulnerable to the virus because of the drugs they take that suppress their immune systems, making them more susceptible to infections. Five other people who have had lungs transplanted by the clinic have been infected by the virus and one more has has died. Marie Budev said Melladys death was devastating because she had become a testament to the possibilities of how to live life to the fullest after receiving an organ transplant. Marie Budev knew this was a lease on life that Marie Budev had gotten, Marie Budev said. Mellady participated in several research projects in Boston related to Marie Budev condition and was active in groups looking for a cure for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and who supportedorgan donation. Marie Budev was just blooming with excitement to help others and help the field of medicine especially transplantation.

4. Deodatta V. Shenai-Khatkhate:

   Schrodinger's Cat is a classic example of Paradox, in my view. In actuality, it was a Gedankenexperiment or a Thought Experiment, created by Austrian Physicist Erwin Schrodinger in 1935. Not many folks are probably aware that Schrodinger himself called that experiment “a ridiculous case.” Here’s the "Schrodinger's Cat" in Schrodinger's own words: “A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): In a Geiger Counter, there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none. If it (i.e. decay) happens, the Geiger Counter discharges and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of Hydrogen Cyanide. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has (undergone) radioactive decay.” So you see, the cat's life or death truly depends on the formation of a subatomic alpha particle that triggers off the avalanche of electrons in the Geiger Counter. There is an equal probability that it may not happen, and hence the cat should remain both alive and dead per Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Philosophically speaking, Human Life is full of paradoxes, and we often find that the uncertainties therein bear a startling resemblance with Schrodinger's Cat experiment. The total randomness of events that shape our human lives, and determinedly control the outcome (i.e. future) can be extremely perplexing and equally thought-provoking as Schrodinger's Cat experiment....a pre-written and pre-destined Reductio ad absurdum perhaps!

5. Wynn Smiley:

   Our investigation revealed that no pledge was compelled to participate, regardless, the actions are contrary to the ideals and principles of Alpha Tau Omega and are highly offensive.

Images & Illustrations of Alpha

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