beta

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See also: Beta, Běta, bêta, béta, bèta, and betą

English[edit]

Ancient Greek Alphabet
←
alpha
 →
gamma
Β β
Ancient Greek: βῆτα
Wikipedia article on beta

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta). Doublet of beth.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta (countable and uncountable, plural betas)

  1. The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β,  β), preceded by alpha (Α,  α) and followed by gamma, (Γ,  γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.
  2. (education, rare) An academic grade better than a gamma and worse than an alpha.
    • 1957, R. Avery, “This Week’s Competition”, in Time & Tide‎[1], volume 38, number 1, page 184:
      But let me tell you happy extroverts that only Vera Telfer and H. A. C. Evans got even an alpha minus; only T. E. Hendrie got a beta plus […]
    • 1964, Randolph Churchill, The Fight for the Tory Leadership: A Contemporary Chronicle‎[2], page 49:
      Mr Taylor would hardly give a beta minus to one of his history students […]
    • 1979, Angus MacVicar, Silver in My Sporran: Confessions of a Writing Man‎[3], page 76:
      The English class was for me delightful. My essays, still written under the influence of Kubla Khan, nearly always got a beta plus.
  3. (finance) Average sensitivity of a security's price to overall securities market prices.
    • 2001, Cheng-Few Lee, editor, Advances in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, volume 8, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 143:
      An inspection of the results indicate that Property Trusts is the lowest risk industry with a long-run beta of 0.4520 while Gold is the highest risk industry with a long-run beta of 1.5229.
  4. (computing, video games)
    2. (uncountable) The phase of development after alpha testing and before launch, in which software, while not complete, has been released to potential users for testing.
      The company is offering a public beta program to test the software.
    3. (countable) Software in such a phase; a preliminary version.
      • 2007, Michael Lopp, Managing Humans, page 107:
        He quickly deduced our goal—ship a quality beta—but he also quickly discerned that we had no idea about the quality of the product because of our pile of untriaged bugs.
      • 2007, Mark Summerfield, Rapid GUI Programming with Python and Qt: The Definitive Guide to PyQt Programming‎[4], Pearson Education, →ISBN:
        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).
      • 2015 February 14, Steven Strom, “Evolve Review: Middle of the food chain”, in Ars Technica‎[5]:
        Before Evolve had even seen its first beta, the game's publisher dipped its toe into presenting it as an eSport.
    4. (proscribed, uncountable) Any kind of content from early development that was not used in the final product.
      beta levels, beta characters, beta items in a video game
  5. (climbing) Information about a route which may aid someone in climbing it.
  6. (physics) A beta particle or beta ray.
  7. (aviation) Sideslip angle.
  8. (aviation) The range of engine power settings in which the blade pitch angle of a constant-speed propeller is controlled directly by the angle of the engine's throttle lever (rather than varying with engine torque and airspeed to maintain a constant propeller RPM), allowing the propeller to be disked to generate high drag and slow the aircraft quickly.
  9. Alternative spelling of betta (“fish in the genus Betta”)
  10. (slang, manosphere, masculism) Ellipsis of beta male, a man who is less competent or desirable than an alpha male.
    • 2006, Catherine Mann, Blaze of Glory‎[6], Harlequin, published 2006, →ISBN:
      “I guess in your psychological language of alpha males and beta males, I would be firmly in the camp that prefers the more laid-back betas,” she took a deep breath, “like your father.”
    • 2010, L. A. Banks, “Dog Tired (of the Drama!)”, in Kevin J. Anderson, editor, Blood Lite II: Overbite, Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 121:
      “They want sexy, virile alpha males, yes? But that doesn't come with sensitive and loyal and all of that. That's a beta. A frickin' collie, Lola. […]
    • 2010, Terry Spear, Wolf Fever, Sourcebooks Casablanca, published 2010, →ISBN, page 24:
      She'd always had a thing for alpha males. Not that she had any intention of being bossed around, even if one had her best interests at heart. Her fascination with alphas was that they were a challenge. Betas didn't hold much of an appeal.
    • 2015, Stephen Jarosek, Tyrants of Matriarchy:
      When they ride the cock carousel in preference to the responsible betas that they find so boring, well, we guess that they pay.
    • 2018, Corey Pein, Live Work Work Work Die‎[7]:
      News of Harper-Mercer's murder spree, which killed ten, prompted speculation on neoreactionary forums that the long-awaited “beta uprising” of virginal shut-ins had begun. Not quite. But in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, a large audience of Americans finally saw the real beta uprising in the violent Nazi rally that shut the city down
  11. (fandom slang) In omegaverse fiction, a person of a secondary sex similar to normal humans, lacking the biological drives of alphas and omegas but generally capable of bonding and mating with either.
    • 2013, Kristina Busse, “Pon Farr, Mpreg, Bonds, and the Rise of the Omegaverse”, in Anne Jamison, editor, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, page 317:
      Many A/B/O stories posit societies where biological imperatives divide people based on wolf pack hierarchies into sexual dominants (alphas), sexual submissives (omegas), and everyone else (betas).
    • 2017, Marianne Gunderson, "What is an omega? Rewriting sex and gender in omegaverse fanfiction", thesis submitted to the University of Oslo, page 99:
      In ASD, the beta also functions as a contrast, as Yuri is assumed to be a beta before his first heat reveals his omega status.
    • 2018, Laura Campillo Arnaiz, “When the Omega Empath Met the Alpha Doctor: An Analysis of Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics in the Hannibal Fandom”, in Ashton Spacey, editor, The Darker Side of Slash Fan Fiction, page 119:
      Betas are usually second in command to the reigning alpha, and omegas belong to the lowest caste of the social hierarchy.

Hyponyms[edit]

(unfinished software):

Coordinate terms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

beta (not comparable)

  1. Identifying a molecular position in an organic chemical compound.
  2. Designates the second in an order of precedence.
  3. (computing) Preliminary; prerelease. Refers to an incomplete version of a product released for initial testing.
  4. (of a person, object or action) Associated with the beta male/female archetype.

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from beta (adjective)

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

beta (third-person singular simple present betas, present participle betaing, simple past and past participle betaed)

  1. (computing) To preliminarily release computer software for initial testing prior to final release.
  2. (chiefly Internet) To beta-read a text.
    • 1999, sqira a., in alt.tv.x-files.creative [8]
      My thanks to Heather; who read it and betaed it. Thank you.
    • 2000, Elizabeth Durack, quoted in Angelina I. Karpovich, “The Audience as Editor: The Role of Beta Readers in Online Fan Fiction Communities” (essay), in Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse (editors), Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, McFarland (2006), →ISBN, page 180,
      Beta’ing is time-consuming, so asking a lot of people to give you a detailed analysis isn’t the most polite thing to do.
    • 2002, Jane Davitt, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative [9]
      The next part is written and beta'd (thanks, Jen!), ready to go but <shuffles feet> I haven't even started what should be the final part yet.
    • 2002, Karmen Ghia, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated [10]
      I had the honor of betaing this story and as I was doing the first read through I had the odd, but lovely, experience when a story suspends the reader in its own rhythm and flow, its own reality.

Anagrams[edit]

Ambonese Malay[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Classical Malay بيتا (beta, “I”).

Pronoun[edit]

beta

  1. I first-person singular pronoun

Alternative forms[edit]

References[edit]

  • D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎[11], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

Asturian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural betes)

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Catalan[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural betes)

  1. beta; the Greek letter Β (lowercase β)

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from Occitan beta.

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural betes)

  1. boat; specifically a small, flat-bottom boat common to the coasts of Provence and Languedoc

Further reading[edit]

Czech[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta n or f

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Declension[edit]

when feminine:

Declension of beta (hard feminine)
singular plural
nominative beta bety
genitive bety bet
dative betě betám
accusative betu bety
vocative beto bety
locative betě betách
instrumental betou betami

Indeclinable when neuter.

Faroese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *bayt- (“house”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta n (genitive singular beta, plural betu)

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Declension[edit]

Declension of beta
n1 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative beta betað betu, betur betuni
accusative beta betað betu, betur betuni
dative beta betanum betum betunum
genitive beta betans betna betnanna

Derived terms[edit]

Galician[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta m (plural betas)

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Icelandic[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta n (genitive singular beta, no plural)

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Declension[edit]

declension of beta
n-w singular
indefinite definite
nominative beta betað
accusative beta betað
dative beta betanu
genitive beta betans

Indonesian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /be.ta/
  • Rhymes: -ta
  • Hyphenation: be‧ta

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Malay beta, probably from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ita (“we”).

Noun[edit]

beta

  1. (dialectal) I, me, my
    Synonyms: aku, saya
Usage notes[edit]

The pronoun is obsolete in common use and limited in literature and Moluccas dialect.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta (first-person possessive betaku, second-person possessive betamu, third-person possessive betanya)

  1. beta (second letter of the Greek alphabet)

Etymology 3[edit]

Borrowed from Munda

Noun[edit]

beta (first-person possessive betaku, second-person possessive betamu, third-person possessive betanya)

  1. male groom sarong

Etymology 4[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta

  1. abbreviation of benda terbang aneh (“unidentified flying object”).

Further reading[edit]

Italian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛ.ta/
  • Rhymes: -ɛta
  • Hyphenation: bè‧ta

Etymology 1[edit]

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

From Latin bēta, from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta f (invariable)

  1. the name of the Greek script letter Β/β; beta
  2. (computing) beta (software version)
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin bēta (“beet”), from Celtic.

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural bete)

  1. Alternative form of bieta; beet

Anagrams[edit]

Jamaican Creole[edit]

Adjective[edit]

beta

  1. comparative degree of gud: better

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

beta

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ベタ

Latin[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Said by some sources to be of Celtic origin,[1][2] but no obvious Celtic cognates exist. 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.

Noun[edit]

bēta f (genitive bētae); first declension

  1. A beet.
Declension[edit]

First-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative bēta bētae
Genitive bētae bētārum
Dative bētae bētīs
Accusative bētam bētās
Ablative bētā bētīs
Vocative bēta bētae
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

bēta n (indeclinable)

  1. The Greek letter beta.

References[edit]

  • “beta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “beta”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • beta in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN
  • Berti-Pichat (1866)
  • Baxter (1837)
  • Poiret (1827)
  • von Lippmann (1925)
  • Geschwind & Sellier (1902)
  • Pabst (1887)
  • Becker-Dillengen (1928)
  • Biancardi, Panella & Lewellen (2011): Beta maritima: The Origin of Beets
  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “beet”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Malay[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

beta (Jawi spelling بيتا)

  1. (royal) I, me, my (exclusive use in royalty, subject is either king or queen)

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta (Jawi spelling بيتا, plural beta-beta, informal 1st possessive betaku, 2nd possessive betamu, 3rd possessive betanya)

  1. beta (second letter of the Greek alphabet)

Old Irish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

beta

  1. third-person plural present subjunctive relative of is
    • c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 207b11
      Cit comṡuidigthi la Grécu ní écen dúnni beta comṡuidigthi linn.
      Although they are compounds in Greek (lit. “with the Greeks”), it is not necessary for us that they be compounds in our language (lit. “with us”).

Polish[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta), from Phoenician 𐤁 (b /⁠bēt⁠/).

Noun[edit]

beta f

  1. beta (Greek letter Β, β)
Declension[edit]
Declension of beta
singular plural
nominative beta bety
genitive bety bet
dative becie betom
accusative betę bety
instrumental betą betami
locative becie betach
vocative beto bety
Derived terms[edit]
nouns

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun[edit]

beta m inan

  1. genitive/accusative singular of bet

Further reading[edit]

  • beta in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • beta in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: be‧ta

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Latin beta, from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural betas)

  1. beta (all senses)

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural betas)

  1. beet (plant)

Etymology 3[edit]

Verb[edit]

beta

  1. inflection of betar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French bêta.

Noun[edit]

beta m (plural beta)

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Declension[edit]

Declension of beta
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) beta betaul (niște) beta betai
genitive/dative (unui) beta betaului (unor) beta betalor
vocative betaule betalor

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /bêta/
  • Hyphenation: be‧ta

Noun[edit]

bȅta f (Cyrillic spelling бе̏та)

  1. beta, the Greek letter, Β, β

Declension[edit]

Declension of beta
singular plural
nominative beta bete
genitive bete beta
dative beti betama
accusative betu bete
vocative beto bete
locative beti betama
instrumental betom betama

Slovak[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta f (genitive singular bety, nominative plural bety, genitive plural biet, declension pattern of žena) OR
beta n

  1. beta (Greek letter)

Usage notes[edit]

  • When used in the neuter gender, the word is not declined.

Declension[edit]

Declension of beta
singular plural
nominative beta bety
genitive bety biet
dative bete betám
accusative betu bety
locative bete betách
instrumental betou betami

References[edit]

  • “beta”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta) ultimately from Proto-Semitic *bayt- (“house”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

beta f (plural betas)

  1. beta; the Greek letter Β, β

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Latin bēta, from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

Noun[edit]

beta n or c

  1. beta; the Greek letter Β, β
  2. (computing) a beta version of a program
  3. (slang) short for minnesbeta
Declension[edit]
Declension of beta Greek letter
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative beta betat beta betan
Genitive betas betats betas betans
Declension of beta 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative beta betan betor betorna
Genitive betas betans betors betornas

Verb[edit]

beta (present betar, preterite betade, supine betat, imperative beta)

  1. to test software prior to release
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of beta (weak)
Active Passive
Infinitive beta betas
Supine betat betats
Imperative beta —
Imper. plural1 beten —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative betar betade betas betades
Ind. plural1 beta betade betas betades
Subjunctive2 bete betade betes betades
Participles
Present participle betande
Past participle betad
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Etymology 2[edit]

Ultimately from Latin bēta (“beet”).

Noun[edit]

beta c

  1. beetroot
Declension[edit]
Declension of beta 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative beta betan betor betorna
Genitive betas betans betors betornas

Etymology 3[edit]

bete +‎ -a

Verb[edit]

beta (present betar, preterite betade, supine betat, imperative beta)

  1. to graze; to eat grass; to feed on growing herbage.
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of beta (weak)
Active Passive
Infinitive beta betas
Supine betat betats
Imperative beta —
Imper. plural1 beten —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative betar betade betas betades
Ind. plural1 beta betade betas betades
Subjunctive2 bete betade betes betades
Participles
Present participle betande
Past participle betad
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
See also[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

Clipping of betaga; be- +‎ ta. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

beta (present betar, preterite betog, supine betagit, imperative beta)

  1. to steal
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of beta (class 6 strong)
Active Passive
Infinitive beta betas
Supine betagit betagits
Imperative beta —
Imper. plural1 betan —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative betar betog betas betogs
Ind. plural1 beta betogo betas betogos
Subjunctive2 beta betoge betas betoges
Participles
Present participle betagande
Past participle betagen
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
Conjugation of betaga (class 6 strong, dated)
Active Passive
Infinitive betaga betagas
Supine betagit betagits
Imperative betag —
Imper. plural1 betagen —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative betager betog betages betogs
Ind. plural1 betaga betogo betagas betogos
Subjunctive2 betage betoge betages betoges
Participles
Present participle betagande
Past participle betagen
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
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