alpha
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈælfə/
ipa: [ˈæɫ.fə]
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈalfɑ/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈɑlfɑ/
note: Indic
ipa: /əlˈfɑ/
rhymes: -ælfə
Forms: form: alphas
Etymology: From the Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”). Doublet of alif and aleph.
Senses: glosses: The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A.
glosses: Latin alpha: the Latin letter Ɑ (minuscule: ɑ).
examples: text: I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider.
topics: sciences
glosses: The name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix.
examples: text: Similarly, alphas are 2.33% larger than that of the equivalent monthly alphas using compounded returns while no changes can be found using arithmetic returns.
ref: 2001, Cheng-Few Lee, editor, Advances in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, volume 8, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 174:
text: To investment professionals, “alpha” is the return over and above the market return. If in a given year the S. & P. 500 returns fifteen per cent and an equity-fund manager generates a return of twenty per cent, his alpha is five per cent.
ref: 2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN:
topics: business
finance
coordinate_terms: beta
glosses: The return of a given asset or portfolio adjusted for systematic risk.
examples: text: Being a beta male in a species with alphas doesn't mean you have to sit out the mating game.
ref: 2008, Faye Flam, The Score: How the Quest for Sex Has Shaped the Modern Man, Avery, published 2008, →ISBN:
text: I'm still turned on by alpha males. I think there are only a couple of other men that turn me on . . . ones that are clearly not alphas.
ref: 2008, Mitzi Szereto, editor, The New Black Lace Book of Women's Sexual Fantasies, Black Lace, →ISBN, page 38:
text: This book is primarily for alpha males, or “top dogs.” We'll talk more about that later; but let's just say that if you are a man and successful in the world of trade, business, or profession, most likely you are an alpha, or you have been trained to act like an alpha.
ref: 2009, Martin G. Groder, Pat Webster, Winning at Love: The Alpha Male's Guide to Relationship Success, Bascom Hill Books, →ISBN, page ix:
glosses: A person, especially a male, who is dominant, successful and attractive; (see alpha male).
glosses: Clipping of alphabet.
examples: text: 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).
ref: 2007, Mark Summerfield, Rapid GUI Programming with Python and Qt: The Definitive Guide to PyQt Programming, Pearson Education, →ISBN:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
glosses: The first versions of a program, usually only available to the developer, and only tested by the developer.
topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
coordinate_terms: beta
gamma
theta
glosses: Angle of attack.
topics: computer-graphics
computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: The level of translucency of a color, as determined by the alpha channel.
topics: computer-graphics
computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Ellipsis of alpha layer.
topics: mathematics
sciences
statistics
glosses: The significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level.
examples: text: Sometimes the alphas and omegas are rare, sometimes they are only males, sometimes they have altered sex organs.
ref: 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:
text: Sherlock realizes that John, despite being an alpha, sees and loves Sherlock for who he is, "a brilliant, mad, nutter of a man," instead of only wanting him for his reproductive functions, his ability to become pregnant.
ref: 2017, Marianne Gunderson, "What is an omega? Rewriting sex and gender in omegaverse fanfiction", thesis submitted to the University of Oslo, page 11
text: Contrary to the typical scenario expected in a dark A/B/O story, in this story both Hannibal and Will are alphas—but Hannibal wants Will to be his omega; subservient and submissive to him only.
ref: 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 130:
topics: lifestyle
glosses: In omegaverse fiction, a person of a dominant secondary sex driven by biology, magic, or other means to bond with an omega, with males of this type often having canine-like genitalia.
examples: text: Some of these old standards will feel alien to zoomers and alphas.
ref: 2025 September 28, Rachel Aroesti, “In an era of AI slop and mid TV, is it time for cultural snobbery to make a comeback?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Alpha (“member of Generation Alpha”).
Derived terms: Acrux
alpha-
alpha acid
alpha-adrenoreceptor
alpha-amino acid
alpha and omega
alpha-beta filter
alphabetagamma
alpha-beta pruning
alpha blending
alpha blocker
alpha-blocker
alpha brass
alpha carbon
alpha cell
alpha chain disease
alpha channel
alpha-chlorotoluene
alpha city
alpha conversion
alphacypermethrin
alpha-cyperone
alpha decay
alpha-d-galactosidase
alpha dog
alpha-dog
alpha dogging
alpha emission
alpha emitter
alpha error
alpha floor
alpha-gal
alpha-GAL
alpha globin
alpha helix
alpha hinge
alpha-hydroxy acid
alpha-hydroxyprogesterone
alpha-lactam
alphalike
alpha linolenic acid
alphalytic
alpha male
alpha max
alphameprodine
alpha-methylphenethylamine
alphamethyltryptamine
alpha-methyltryptamine
alpha naphthol
alpha-naphthylthiourea
alphanumeric
alpha pair
alpha paper
alpha particle
alpha privative
alpha privativum
alphaprodine
alpha protection
alpha-PVP
alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone
alpha-quartz
alpha quartz
alpha radiation
alpha ray
alpha-receptor
alpha rhythm
alpha strike
alphasyllabary
alpha taxonomy
alpha-taxonomy
alpha-test
alpha testing
alpha-thalassemia-intellectual disability syndrome
alphatron
alpha up
alpha version
alpha wave
alpha widow
alphette
alphol
alprazolam
alteplase
antithrombin
enormous Lyman-alpha nebula
ensen's alpha
female alpha
labetalol
Latin alpha
Lyman-alpha forest
male alpha
pre-alpha version
triple-alpha process
Related terms: alphabet