omicron
See also: Omicron, ómicron, òmicron, and ômicron
English
| ← xi |   | → pi |
Ο ο Ancient Greek: ὂ μικρόν | ||
| Wikipedia article on omicron | ||
Alternative forms
- Omicron, omikron, Omikron
- o, O
- Ο, ο
Etymology
From Latin omicron, from Koine Greek ὂ μῑκρόν (ò mīkrón, “little o”), named in contrast with omega (“big o”). The uncommon form omicra is similarly borrowed from Latin and Greek. The use for designating stars in a constellation—typically in order of apparent brightness—began with Johann Bayer's 1603 Uranometria.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/, /ˈɒmɪkɹən/, /ˈəʊmɪkɹɒn/, /əʊˈmaɪkɹɒn/, /əʊˈmaɪkɹən/, /əˈmaɪkɹɒn/, /əˈmaɪkɹən/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈoʊməˌkɹɑn/, /ˈoʊmɪˌkɹɑn/, /ˈɑməˌkɹɑn/, /ˈɑmɪˌkɹɑn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪkɹɒn
- Homophone: Omicron
Noun
omicron (plural omicrons or omicra)
- (sometimes capitalized) The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 15th discovered major variant of a disease.
- 1656 [1612], Henry, Earl of Monmouth, transl., I Raggvagli di Parnasso: or Advertisements from Parnassus, London: Humphrey Moseley, translation of De Ragguagli di Parnaso by Traiano Boccalini, page 180:
- Your Majestie knows that unfortunate I [...] was the first who when I published my Poem of Italia Liberata endeavoured to bring the Omicron, Eupselon, Omega, and other Greek Letters, which I thought very requisite for that language, into my own Tongue;
- 1750 [1748 Jan. 10], James Russel, “Letter LI”, in Letters from a Young Painter Abroad to his Friends in England, volume II, London: W. Russel, page 120:
- The E serves both for the Epsilon and Eta; the O, both for the Omicron and Omega, and likewise for the dipthong OΥ.
- 1992 July, Astronomy Now, No. 36, p. 1:
- ... They include Mira itself (omicron Ceti) which can be seen shortly before dawn.
- 2021 November 27, Vimal Patel, "How Omicron, the New Covid-19 Variant, Got Its Name", New York Times:
- There are now seven “variants of interest” or “variants of concern” and they each have a Greek letter, according to a W.H.O. tracking page. Some other variants with Greek letters do not reach those classification levels, and the W.H.O. also skipped two letters just before Omicron — “Nu” and “Xi” — leading to speculation about whether “Xi” was avoided in deference to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
-
omicron (uncountable)
- (virology, pathology) Ellipsis of Omicron variant.
Translations
Greek letter
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References
- “omicon, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2021. - “omicron”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- Hauser, Christine. "How Do You Say 'Omicron'?" New York Times, 30 November 2021.
- West, James. "I Asked Seven Classics Experts How to Say 'Omicron'..." Mother Jones, 30 November 2021.
Anagrams
- moronic, oncomir
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔ.mi.kʁɔ̃/, /ɔ.mi.kʁɔn/
Audio (file)
Noun
omicron m (plural omicron or omicrons)
- omicron (Greek letter)
Usage notes
The plural form omicrons is a product of the 1990 spelling reforms.
Further reading
- “omicron”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Noun
omicron m (invariable)
- omicron (Greek letter)
Anagrams
- cromino
Romanian
Etymology
From French omicron.
Noun
omicron m (plural omicron)
- omicron (Greek letter)
Declension
Declension of omicron
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) omicron | omicronul | (niște) omicron | omicroni |
| genitive/dative | (unui) omicron | omicronului | (unor) omicron | omicronlor |
| vocative | omicronule | omicronlor | ||