upsilon

[ yoop-suh-lon, -luhn, uhp-; especially British yoop-sahy-luhn ]

noun

1. the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
2. the vowel sound represented by this letter.
3. Also called upsilon particle. Physics. any of a family of heavy, short-lived, neutral mesons that are composed of a bottom quark and its antiquark. : Υ, υ

upsilon

/ ˈʌpsɪˌlɒn; juːpˈsaɪlən /

noun

1. the 20th letter in the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ), a vowel, transliterated as y or u

Word History and Origins

Origin of upsilon¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Late Greek ŷ psīlón, literally, “simple u ” (to distinguish it from the digraph oi, pronounced the same in Late Greek )

Word History and Origins

Origin of upsilon¹

C17: from Medieval Greek u psilon simple u, name adopted for graphic u to avoid confusion with graphic oi, since pronunciation was the same for both in Late Greek

Example Sentences

The fraternities involved in the alleged drug sales were Alpha Epsilon Pi, Pi Kappa Alpha and Psi Upsilon.

From The Daily Beast

The little son of the queen, Prince Upsilon, was peevish over this and was continually calling for more playthings.

From Project Gutenberg

It sounds well to be a Kappa Upsilon and we can go around if we like and be as snooty as any of them.

From Project Gutenberg

A bone of the tongue resembling the Greek letter upsilon in shape.

From Project Gutenberg

This species is the ypsilon of Borkhausen, and the upsilon of other authors.

From Project Gutenberg

She issued an order, therefore, that for a certain time Upsilon was to have no playthings.

From Project Gutenberg