Zeta

How to spell zeta

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce zeta

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does zeta mean?

1. nounThe sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, written Z or zeta, also used as a symbol in mathematics and science.

Zeta in a sentence

• The lecturer wrote a lowercase zeta on the board to denote the variable.

• In number theory the Riemann zeta function appears in countless proofs.

Where does zeta come from?

Language of origin: Greek

Zeta is the name of the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, taken directly into English from the Greek word zeta. The Greeks in turn adapted the letter from the Phoenician character zayin, whose name meant 'weapon' and which represented a similar sibilant sound. As Greek learning spread through Latin and then into English scholarship, the letter names were borrowed wholesale, which is why zeta keeps its tidy, foreign-looking spelling rather than being respelled phonetically. In modern usage it survives both as the alphabet letter and as a label in science and mathematics, where it marks quantities such as the Riemann zeta function and the zeta potential of suspended particles. The spelling is stable across English, and the only real uncertainty for writers is whether to say 'ZEE-ta' (more common in Britain) or 'ZAY-ta' (more common in North America).

How the word is built

• zeta (Greek letter name, from Phoenician zayin)