Beta (upper case Β, lower case β) is the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Ancient Greek language, it was pronounced [b], but in Modern Greek is pronounced [v]. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 2. Beta should not be confused with a similar-looking but unrelated letter in German language orthography, ß, which denotes a long "s" sound.
Beta is the second highest caste in Aldous Huxley's dystopic satire Brave New World.
The lower-case letter β is used as the symbol for:
The Modern Greek name of the letter is /ˈvi.ta/. The American pronunciation is /ˈbeɪ.tə/ whereas the British pronunciation is /ˈbiː.tə/. See: American and British English differences, IPA
Letters that arose from Beta include the Roman B and the Cyrillic letters Be and Ve.
The Chinese radical Fu (阝) looks almost identical.
Last updated: 02-03-2005 08:52:38
Last updated: 04-25-2005 03:06:01