alpha
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.
Other meanings
Latin alpha: the Latin letter Ɑ (minuscule: ɑ).
The name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix.
“I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider.”
Example sentences
Word history
From Ancient Greek "ἄλφα".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “alpha” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.