Etymograph

English

alpha

Alpha comes from Ancient Greek ἄλφα, from Phoenician 𐤀 ‘aleph’, and ultimately from Egyptian E1.

  1. Egyptianc. 3200 BCE–600 CEE1
  2. Phoenicianmodern𐤀ʾ‘aleph’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄλφαálpha
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2001alpha

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Egyptianc. 3200 BCE–600 CEE1
  2. Phoenicianmodern𐤀ʾ‘aleph’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄλφαálpha
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2001alpha

Earliest quotation: 2001, Cheng-Few Lee, Advances in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management: “Similarly, alphas are 2.33% larger than that of the…”

Every English word from Egyptian E1

Today it means

noun 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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Egyptian E1 / alpha

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