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beta

Etymology and origin of the English word beta

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1300
Borrowed from
Latin beta
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (βῆτα)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbiːtə/, /ˈbeɪtə/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin bēta, from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta),[2][3] of Semitic origin, akin to Hebrew בית (bēth, “the second letter; house”),[2][4][5] a letter first drawn as a house.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The second letter of the Greek alphabet: before 1300 in the OED, before 1325, in Cursor Mundi, in Barnhart.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

It came to mark the second of many things, as in classifications (1867) and in astronomy for the second-brightest star of a constellation.[6][3] Beta radiation was named by Rutherford in 1899, and the beta particle is from 1904.[5][6] The beta version of a product, released for testing by users, and the pejorative beta male, a follower rather than a leader, are modern uses.[7][5]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – the Greek letter.[6]
  • 1867 – second in a classification.[6]
  • 1899 – beta radiation.[5][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β).
  2. The second in a series or classification.
  3. (computing) A version of software released to users for testing before final release.

Adjective

  1. (physics) Relating to electrons emitted in radioactive decay: beta particles.

Word family

  • beta-lactamase
  • betamethasone
  • beta-naphthol
  • beta-test
  • beta-thalassemia
  • betatron
  • labetalol
  • beta-blocker

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Beta.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/beta. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·