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Delta (letter)


Delta (upper case Δ, lower case δ) is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 4.

A river delta is named after the letter delta because it has roughly the triangular shape of the upper-case delta.

The upper-case letter Δ is used as the symbol for:

Deltas are the second lowest caste in Aldous Huxley's dystopic satire Brave New World.

The lower-case letter δ is used as the symbol for:

  • A microscopic change in the value of a variable in mathematics or science.
  • The Kronecker delta in mathematics.
  • The Dirac delta function in mathematics.
  • A mark for deletion in proofreading. The usage is said to date back to classical times.

Letters that arose from Delta include the Roman D and the Cyrillic letter De.

Last updated: 06-01-2005 22:24:27
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