# beta
## English
### Etymology 1

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

### Pronunciation

* (UK) enPR: bēʹtə, IPA: /ˈbiːtə/
* (US) enPR: bāʹtə, IPA: /ˈbeɪtə/
* (Philippines) enPR: bĕʹtə, IPA: /ˈbɛtə/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːtə, -eɪtə, (Philippines) -ɛtə
* Homophones: beater (UK, non-rhotic); baiter (US, non-rhotic)

### Noun

beta (countable and uncountable, plural betas)
* 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.
* (education, rare) An academic grade better than a gamma and worse than an alpha.
** 1957, R. Avery, “This Week’s Competition”, in Time & Tide‎, 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, 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, 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.
* (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.
* (computing, video games)
** (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.
** (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, 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:Before Evolve had even seen its first beta, the game's publisher dipped its toe into presenting it as an eSport.
** (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
* (climbing) Information about a route which may aid someone in climbing it.
* (physics) A beta particle or beta ray.
* (aviation) Sideslip angle.
* (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.
* Alternative spelling of betta (“fish in the genus Betta”)
* (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, 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: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
* (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

(unfinished software):
* closed beta
* open beta
* paid beta
* perpetual beta
* public beta

#### Coordinate terms

* (sideslip angle): alpha, gamma, theta

#### Derived terms

* alpha-beta filter
* alphabetagamma
* alpha-beta pruning
* amyloid beta
* amyloid-beta
* Becrux
* beta-antithrombin
* beta-beam
* beta blockade
* betabux
* betacetylmethadol
* beta city
* beta-compactification
* beta distribution
* beta error
* beta female
* beta fish
* beta function
* beta-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin
* beta iron
* betaish
* beta-lactamase
* beta-lactamic
* betalight
* beta-lipoprotein
* beta male
* betameprodine
* betamethadol
* betamethasone
* betamimetic
* beta movement
* beta-naphthol
* beta orbiter
* beta-pleated sheet
* betaprodine
* betaproteobacterium
* beta quartz
* beta reduce
* beta reduction
* beta-sitosterol
* beta test, beta-test
* beta tester
* beta testing
* betathromboglobulin
* betatron
* betavoltaic
* betavoltaics
* betaware
* labetalol
* machete beta
* metallo-beta-lactamase
* New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1
* nonbeta
* region-beta paradox

#### See also

* (Greek-script letter names) alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, omega

### Adjective

beta (not comparable)
* Identifying a molecular position in an organic chemical compound.
* Designates the second in an order of precedence.
* (computing) Preliminary; prerelease. Refers to an incomplete version of a product released for initial testing.
* (of a person, object or action) Associated with the beta male/female archetype.

#### Derived terms

* beta amino acid, beta-amino acid
* beta barrel, beta-barrel
* beta blocker, beta-blocker
* Betacam
* beta carbon nitride
* beta-carotene, beta carotene
* beta cell
* beta coefficient
* beta decay
* beta emitter
* beta form 1-3
* beta globin
* beta globulin
* beta-glucan
* beta-glucosidase
* beta helix
* beta lactam, beta-lactam
* betalike
* Betamax
* beta oxidation, beta-oxidation
* beta particle, β-particle
* beta-peptide
* beta radiation
* beta ray, β-ray
* beta reader
* beta receptor
* beta sheet
* beta strand
* beta version
* beta wave

#### Translations
### Verb

beta (third-person singular simple present betas, present participle betaing, simple past and past participle betaed)
* (computing) To preliminarily release computer software for initial testing prior to final release.
* (chiefly Internet) To beta-read a text.
** 1999, sqira a., in alt.tv.x-files.creative
    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
    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
    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.

### Etymology 2

From Hindi बेटा (beṭā)

### Noun

beta (countable and uncountable, plural betas)
* (India, Pakistan, colloquial) a term of endearment, used towards someone of equal or lower standing such as a friend or child, similar to brother or son
    you dont have to pick it up beta, that's dirty

### Anagrams

* Bate, Teba, abet, bate, beat

## Ambonese Malay
### Alternative forms

* bet, be

### Etymology

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

### Pronoun

beta
* I first-person singular pronoun

### See also

$^1$ Used with inclusive meaning in some dialects. $^2$ Polite.
* The short forms are mostly dependent.
* The second person pronouns are usually avoided when talking to someone of higher status or older.
See each entry for more information.

### References

* D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎, Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

## Asturian
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

### Noun

beta f (plural betes)
* beta (Greek letter)

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈbɛ.tə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈbe.ta]

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

#### Noun

beta f (plural betes)
* beta; the Greek letter Β (lowercase β)

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Occitan beta.

#### Noun

beta f (plural betes)
* boat; specifically a small, flat-bottom boat common to the coasts of Provence and Languedoc

### Further reading

* “beta” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Czech
### Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

### Noun

beta n or f
* beta (Greek letter)

#### Declension

when feminine:
Indeclinable when neuter.

## Faroese
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpeːʰta/
* Rhymes: -eːʰta
* Homophone: betað

### Noun

beta n (genitive singular beta, plural betu)
* beta (Greek letter)

#### Derived terms

* betageisli m
* betageisling f

## Galician
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

### Noun

beta m (plural betas)
* beta (Greek letter)

## Guyanese Creole English
### Noun

beta
* Alternative spelling of baytah (“son”)

### References

* Henry, Edgar A. (2022) The Guyanese Slang Alphabet, Dorrance Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 41

## Icelandic
### Noun

beta f (genitive singular betu, nominative plural betur) or beta n (genitive singular beta, nominative plural betu)
* beta (Greek letter)

#### Declension
## Indonesian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /be.ta/
* Rhymes: -ta
* Hyphenation: be‧ta

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay beta, from Hindi बेटा (beṭā, “son”).

#### Noun

beta
* (dialectal) I, me, my
    Synonyms: aku, saya

##### Usage notes

The pronoun is obsolete in common use and limited in literature. It is also highly stereotypical of Maluku Islands (Moluccas) and East Nusa Tenggara.

### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

#### Noun

beta (plural beta-beta)
* beta (second letter of the Greek alphabet)

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from Munda

#### Noun

beta (plural beta-beta)
* male groom sarong

### Etymology 4
#### Noun

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

### Further reading

* “beta” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛ.ta/
* Rhymes: -ɛta
* Hyphenation: bè‧ta

### Etymology 1

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

#### Noun

beta f (invariable)
* the name of the Greek script letter Β/β; beta
* (computing) beta (software version)

##### Derived terms

* betacismo

##### Related terms

* bet

### Etymology 2

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

#### Noun

beta f (plural bete)
* Alternative form of bieta; beet

### Anagrams

* beat, tabe

## Jamaican Creole
### Adjective

beta
* comparative degree of gud: better
** 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 11:15:Enibadi we av iez — beta lisn gud!Anybody who has ears – better listen good!

## Japanese
### Romanization

beta
* Rōmaji transcription of ベタ

## Latin
### Etymology 1

Said by some sources to be of Celtic origin, but no obvious Celtic cognates exist; Ernout and Meillet adduce an apparently apocryphal Irish biatuis as cognate. 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

bēta f (genitive bētae); first declension
* A beet.

##### Declension

First-declension noun.

##### Descendants

* Catalan: bleda (partially), bleda-rave
* French: bette, betterave, blette (partially)
** Galician: beterraba
** Portuguese: beterraba
** Spanish: betarraga (Chile), beterraga (Chile), beterava (Western Argentina)
* Irish: biatas
* Italian: bieta (partially), bietola
* Norman: betterave
* Sicilian: jiti (Southern East of Sicily) (it is probably pluralia tantum but preceded by definite article "a")
* → Proto-West Germanic: *bētā (see there for further descendants)

### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

#### Noun

bēta n (indeclinable)
* The Greek letter beta.

### References

* 1 2 Ernout, Alfred, Meillet, Antoine (1985) “bēta, -ae”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots (in French), 4th edition, with additions and corrections of Jacques André, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, page 69
* ↑ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Beta”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “beet”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Further reading

* “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

## Malay
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* (Johor-Selangor) IPA: /betə/
* (Riau-Lingga) IPA: /beta/
* Rhymes: -etə, -tə, -ə

### Pronoun

beta (Jawi spelling بيتا)
* (royal) I, me, my (exclusive use in royalty, subject is either king or queen)

#### See also

* aku
* saya
* patik

### Noun

beta (Jawi spelling بيتا, plural beta-beta, informal 1st possessive betaku, 2nd possessive betamu, 3rd possessive betanya)
* beta (second letter of the Greek alphabet)

## Old Irish
### Alternative forms

* bete

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbʲeda/

### Verb

beta
* 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. 207$^b$11
    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
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛ.ta/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛta
* Syllabification: be‧ta

### Etymology 1

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

#### Noun

beta f
* beta (Greek letter Β, β)

##### Derived terms

* abetalipoproteinemia
* beta-karoten
* komórka beta
* promieniowanie beta
* stan beta
* wersja beta

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

beta m inan
* genitive/accusative singular of bet

### Further reading

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

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛ.tɐ/
* Hyphenation: be‧ta

### Etymology 1

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

#### Noun

beta f (plural betas)
* beta (all senses)

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

beta f (plural betas)
* beet (plant)

### Etymology 3
#### Verb

beta
* inflection of betar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French bêta.

### Noun

beta m (plural beta)
* beta (Greek letter)

#### Declension
## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bêta/
* Hyphenation: be‧ta

### Noun

bȅta f (Cyrillic spelling бе̏та)
* beta, the Greek letter, Β, β

#### Declension
## Slovak
### Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbeta]

### Noun

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

#### Usage notes

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

#### Declension
### References

* “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, 2003–2025

## Spanish
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbeta/ [ˈbe.t̪a]
* Rhymes: -eta
* Syllabification: be‧ta
* Homophone: veta

### Noun

beta f (plural betas)
* beta; the Greek letter Β, β

#### Derived terms

* partícula beta
* radiación beta
* rayo beta

### Further reading

* “beta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Etymology 1

Latin bēta, from Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta).

#### Noun

beta n or c
* beta; the Greek letter Β, β
* (computing) a beta version of a program
* (slang) short for minnesbeta

##### Declension
#### Verb

beta (present betar, preterite betade, supine betat, imperative beta)
* to test software prior to release

##### Conjugation

$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

### Etymology 2

Ultimately from Latin bēta (“beet”).

#### Noun

beta c
* beetroot

##### Declension
### Etymology 3

bete +‎ -a

#### Verb

beta (present betar, preterite betade, supine betat, imperative beta)
* to graze; to eat grass; to feed on growing herbage.

##### Conjugation

$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

##### See also

* beta av
* bete

### Etymology 4

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛˈtɑː/

#### Verb

beta (present betar, preterite betog, supine betagit, imperative beta)
* to steal

##### Conjugation

$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

### References

* beta in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* beta in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* beta in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)