zeta
UK /ˈziː.tə/ · US /ˈzeɪtə/ noun, proper noun
Forms zetas
- noun The sixth letter of the modern Greek alphabet (Ζ, ζ) preceded by epsilon (Ε, ε) and followed by eta, (Η, η); or the seventh letter in the ancient Greek alphabet, in which it is preceded by digamma (Ϝ, ϝ)
- noun (mathematics) A mathematical function, formally known as the Riemann zeta function. “Zeta of 3 is irrational”
- proper noun (historical) medieval state roughly equivalent to modern Montenegro.
- noun A member of Los Zetas, a Mexican criminal syndicate.
Etymology
From the Ancient Greek ζῆτα (zêta). Doublet of zed.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A Greek letter [z] corresponding to our z.
Etymology [L., from Gr. Zed.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “zeta”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details