Definitions for Alpha
ˈæl fəal·pha

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. alphanoun

   the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet

2. alphaadjective

   the beginning of a series or sequence

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

3. alphaadjective

   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. alphaadjective

   early testing stage of a software or hardware product

   "alpha version"

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. alphanoun

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

2. alphanoun

   Latin alpha

3. alphanoun

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

4. alphanoun

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

5. alphanoun

   An alpha male.

6. alphanoun

   Alphabet.

7. alphaadjective

   Designates the first in an order of precedence.

   I am the alpha male.

8. alphaadjective

   Designates the brightest star in a constellation.

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

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

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ALPHAnoun

   The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to our A; therefore used to signify the first.

   I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Revelat.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Alpha

   Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α; Ancient Greek: ἄλφα, álpha, or Greek: άλφα, romanized: álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which is the West Semitic word for "ox". Letters that arose from alpha include the Latin letter A and the Cyrillic letter А.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Alphanoun

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

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

FreebaseRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ALPHA

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alpha is ranked #48347 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Alpha surname appeared 437 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Alpha.
   
   75.2% or 329 total occurrences were White.
   20.8% or 91 total occurrences were Black.
   1.6% or 7 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.1% or 5 total occurrences were Asian.
   1.1% or 5 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Letter

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

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

How to pronounce Alpha?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Kerrisdale Capital Sahm Adrangi:

   The reason investors are paying hedge fund fees are to uncover alpha and shorting can help with that.

2. Eric Dorfman:

   Alpha-1 is very rare, the average person goes to seven specialists before they actually discover that they have Alpha-1.

3. Elisabeth Maxwell:

   My father was a powerful man — you know, an alpha male, really. And when you have that kind of experience, all of us, all of the brothers and sisters have had to somehow deal with that, elisabeth Maxwell was no exception. But clearly to then say, ‘ Well, you know, Elisabeth Maxwell dies, then she moves along to the next rich man. ’ I just do n’t buy that.

4. Rick Wilson:

   Donald Trump is basically conning conservatives. I underestimated how powerfully they want to be conned by this guy, they want to be told they're still going to be loved and respected in the morning. They want the big alpha male to sweep them off their feet and treat them roughly. They want that out of this guy.

5. Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner:

   Buffalo State College is aware of and continues to support the City of Buffalo Police Department’s investigation into an allegation of hazing involving Alpha Phi Alpha and Bradley D’Oyley at an off-campus location. While the investigation is conducted, the campus chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha has been suspended by both the college and the fraternity’s national governing body.

Popularity rank by frequency of use