Jump To:

• eta
  eta

  noun

  the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet (H, η).
• E.T.A.
  E.T.A.

  abbreviation

  estimated time of arrival.
• ETA
  ETA

  abbreviation

  estimated time of arrival

eta

¹ American  

[ey-tuh, ee-tuh] / ˈeɪ tə, ˈi tə /

noun

1. the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet (H, η).

2. the vowel sound represented by this letter.

---

E.T.A. ² American  

Or ETA

abbreviation

1. estimated time of arrival.

---

ETA ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. estimated time of arrival

---

ETA ² British  

/ ˈɛtə /

acronym

1. Euzkadi ta Askatsuna: an organization of militant Basque nationalists attempting to gain independence for the Basques, esp those ruled by Spain, until a ceasefire in 1998, by means of guerrilla warfare

---

eta ³ British  

/ ˈiːtə /

noun

1. the seventh letter in the Greek alphabet (Η, η), a long vowel sound, transliterated as e or ē

---

eta ⁴ British  

/ ˈeɪtə /

noun

1. (in Japan, formerly) a member of a class of outcasts who did menial and dirty tasks

---

Etymology

Origin of eta

< Greek êta; compare Hebrew ḥeth heth

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eta E.T.A. ETA

But other variants – eta, theta, iota – were quickly steamrolled and are now irrelevant.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2021

Status Symbol The H on the men’s clothing is the Greek letter eta.

From National Geographic

Among 44 men who were intensely concerned with their athletic ability, Little reports in the journal A eta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 32 suffered from neuroses that had been set off by physical ailments.

From Time Magazine Archive

The importance of those men dressed in white is clearly shown by the symbol that looks like an H, the Greek letter eta.

From National Geographic

The ancient disqualifications of the eta and heimin were removed in 1871, and these pariahs placed on the same legal footing as the rest of the population.

From Japan by David Murray

A number of characters also correspond to Nutcracker figures from the original, much darker story by E.T.A.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 31, 2021

The ballet was based on a story called ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ by the German writer E.T.A.

From Fox News ● Dec. 18, 2018

She confirmed that in subsequent acts it veers away from naturalism, inspired by magical realist writers like Bruno Schulz and E.T.A.

From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2015

One appreciation described his childhood as "some hybrid tale of E.T.A. Hoffmann upon Mark Twain," and his stories of camp life and voodoo held men and women spellbound while he was alive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2015

Numerous examples might be cited of men who were almost equally gifted in expressing themselves in either words or musical sounds—notably von Weber, E.T.A.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 06 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Kuno Francke

Rollout of the electronic travel authorization program, similar to the UK’s ETA, has been repeatedly delayed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

He said his ETA was 5 p.m., and it ended up being 5:25 p.m., typical 405 Freeway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

At some point, you realize the ETA is 30 minutes, and the remaining distance is three miles.

From Barron's ● May 3, 2026

Once approved, your ETA will allow you to stay in the UK for up to six months.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

She quickly opened a message to her father, then typed: ETA?

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson