digamma

di·gam·ma

D d

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [dahy-gam-uh]
- /daɪˈgæm ə/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [dahy-gam-uh]
- /daɪˈgæm ə/

Definitions of digamma word

noun digamma a letter of the early Greek alphabet that generally fell into disuse in Attic Greek before the classical period and that represented a sound similar to English w. 1
noun digamma a letter of the Greek alphabet (Ϝ) that became obsolete before the classical period of the language. It represented a semivowel like English W and was used as a numeral in later stages of written Greek, and passed into the Roman alphabet as F 0
noun digamma the sixth letter (ϝ) of the early Greek alphabet, derived from the Semitic vav and having the sound of the English w: it was replaced in the Latin alphabet by F 0
noun digamma Letter of the Old Greek alphabet: Ϝ, ϝ. 0

See all 4 definitions of digamma

Information block about the term

Origin of digamma

First appearance:

before 1545

One of the 30% oldest English words

1545-55; < Latin < Greek dígamma, equivalent to di- di-1 + gámma gamma; from its resemblance to two gammas placed one over the other, similar to Roman French, which is a descendant of digamma

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Digamma

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Digamma

digamma popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 69% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 68% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

digamma usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer