omicron en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈoʊməˌkɹɑn/ (US)
- /əˈmaɪkɹən/ (UK)
- (US) audio
- /əʊˈmaɪkɹən/ (UK)
- /ˈɑmɪˌkɹɑn/ (US)
- /ˈəʊmɪkɹɒn/ (UK)
- /ˈɑməˌkɹɑn/ (US)
- /əˈmaɪkɹɒn/ (UK)
- /ˈɒmɪkɹən/ (UK)
- /əʊˈmaɪkɹɒn/ (UK)
- /ˈoʊmɪˌkɹɑn/ (US)
- /ˈɒmɪkɹɒn/ (UK)
Etymology
From Latin omicron, from Koine Greek ὂ μῑκρόν (ò mīkrón, “little o”), named in contrast with omega (“big o”). The uncommon form omicra is similarly borrowed from Latin and Greek. The use for designating stars in a constellation—typically in order of apparent brightness—began with Johann Bayer's 1603 Uranometria.
Meanings
-
(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable) Ellipsis of Omicron variant.
alt of Omicron variant
-
(capitalized, sometimes) The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming (astronomy) the 15th star of a constellation or (epidemiology) the 15th discovered major variant of a disease.
There are now seven “variants of interest” or “variants of concern” and they each have a Greek letter, according to a W.H.O. tracking page. Some other variants with Greek letters do not reach those classification levels, and the W.H.O. also skipped two letters just before Omicron — “Nu” and “Xi” — leading to speculation about whether “Xi” was avoided in deference to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
2021 November 27, Vimal Patel, “How Omicron, the New Covid-19 Variant, Got Its Name”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Mar 2022:Your Majestie knows that unfortunate I [...] was the first who when I published my Poem of Italia Liberata endeavoured to bring the Omicron, Eupselon, Omega, and other Greek Letters, which I thought very requisite for that language, into my own Tongue;
1656 [1612], Henry, Earl of Monmouth, transl., I Raggvagli di Parnasso: or Advertisements from Parnassus, London: Humphrey Moseley, translation of De Ragguagli di Parnaso by Traiano Boccalini, page 180:... They include Mira itself (omicron Ceti) which can be seen shortly before dawn.
1992 July, Astronomy Now, No. 36, p. 1The E serves both for the Epsilon and Eta; the O, both for the Omicron and Omega, and likewise for the diphthong OΥ.
1750 [1748 January 10], James Russel, “Letter LI”, in Letters from a Young Painter Abroad to his Friends in England, volume II, London: W. Russel, page 120:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| o | alternative | lexicographic | |
| omicrons | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| Omicron | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Omikron | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Ο | alternative | lexicographic | |
| O | alternative | lexicographic | |
| ο | alternative | lexicographic | |
| omikron | alternative | lexicographic | |
| omicra | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
omnicron · omicron strain · deltacron · omicron variant · omicron virus
Translations (29)
cmn 奧密克戎 /奥密克戎 (Greek letter) · fi omikron (Greek letter) · ca òmicron (Greek letter) · mi omikorōna (Greek letter) · hu omikron (Greek letter) · ja オミクロン (Greek letter) · pl omikron (Greek letter) · cmn 奧米克戎 /奥米克戎 (Greek letter) · grc ὂ μικρόν (Greek letter) · pt ômicron (Greek letter) · ia omicron (Greek letter) · th โอไมครอน (Greek letter) · ar أُومِيكْرُون (Greek letter) · ast ómicron (Greek letter) · ko 오미크론 (Greek letter) · it omicron (Greek letter) · ru омикро́н (Greek letter) · ms omikron (Greek letter) · sv omikron (Greek letter) · tr omikron (Greek letter) · el όμικρον (Greek letter) · eo omikrono (Greek letter) · pt ómicron (Greek letter) · ga oimiocrón (Greek letter) · fr omicron (Greek letter) · nl omikron (Greek letter) · cs omikron (Greek letter) · de Omikron (Greek letter) · es ómicron (Greek letter)