digamma

American  

[dahy-gam-uh] / daɪˈgæm ə /

noun

• digammas
  plural

1. a letter of the early Greek alphabet that generally fell into disuse in Attic Greek before the classical period and that represented a sound similar to English w.

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digamma British  

/ daɪˈɡæmə /

noun

1. a letter of the Greek alphabet ( ) that became obsolete before the classical period of the language. It represented a semivowel like English W and was used as a numeral in later stages of written Greek, and passed into the Roman alphabet as F

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• digammated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• digammas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of digamma

1545–55; < Latin < Greek dígamma, equivalent to di- di- ¹ + gámma gamma; from its resemblance to two gammas placed one over the other, similar to Roman French, which is a descendant of digamma

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

digamma

The digamma, I am informed, is a letter that was lost in prehistoric times from the Greek alphabet.

From Chimney-Pot Papers by Fritz August Gottfried Endell

The figure of the letter F is the same as that of the ancient Greek digamma, which it also closely resembles in power.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various

If V or F—the digamma is here admissible, then we arrive very near our own word Fish.

From Fishes, Flowers, and Fire as Elements and Deities in the Phallic Faiths and Worship of the Ancient Religions of Greece, Babylon, by Anonymous

Which of these various sounds should be given the digamma appears to have been determined by the law of euphony.

From The Roman Pronunciation of Latin Why we use it and how to use it by Frances Ellen Lord

Think of living forty years, like Doctor Chocker, on the husks of the digamma!

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 87, January, 1865 by Various

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