Gamma
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Look up Γ or γ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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| Greek alphabet | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Αα | Alpha | Νν | Nu |
| Ββ | Beta | Ξξ | Xi |
| Γγ | Gamma | Οο | Omicron |
| Δδ | Delta | Ππ | Pi |
| Εε | Epsilon | Ρρ | Rho |
| Ζζ | Zeta | Σσς | Sigma |
| Ηη | Eta | Ττ | Tau |
| Θθ | Theta | Υυ | Upsilon |
| Ιι | Iota | Φφ | Phi |
| Κκ | Kappa | Χχ | Chi |
| Λλ | Lambda | Ψψ | Psi |
| Μμ | Mu | Ωω | Omega |
| Obsolete letters | |||
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Digamma |  |
Qoppa |
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San |  |
Sampi |
| Other characters | |||
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Stigma |  |
Sho |
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Heta | ||
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| Greek diacritics | |||
Gamma (uppercase Γ, lowercase γ; Greek: Γάμμα) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Gimel 
. Letters that arose from Gamma include the Roman C and G and the Cyrillic letters Ge Г and Ghe Ґ.
In Modern Greek, it represents either a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ or a voiced palatal fricative /ʝ/. In Ancient Greek, it represented a voiced velar stop /ɡ/. Before velars, it represents a velar nasal /ŋ/ in Modern as well as Ancient Greek, and a double gamma represents the sequence /ŋɡ/ (phonetically varying [ŋg~g]) or /ŋɣ/.
[edit] Gamma combinations
The gamma can be combined with other letters or itself.
- A double gamma (γγ) is pronounced like the ng in "finger"
- A gamma with xi (γξ) is pronounced roughly like the nx in "sphinx"
- (γχ) is pronounced like the nkh in "ankh"
- A gamma combined with kappa (γκ) is pronounced like the nk in "banker"
[edit] Use as a symbol or a term
Gamma is often used to denote a variable in mathematics and physics. In certain areas it has a specific meaning, such as representing gamma radiation in nuclear physics and the Lorentz factor in theory of relativity. The lower case gamma is also used in engineering mechanics to symbolize specific weight. In mathematics, the gamma function (usually written as Γ-function) is an extension of the factorial to complex numbers.
Phonetics uses gamma as the symbol for the voiced velar fricative.
