digamma
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.
Origin of digamma
1Other words from digamma
- di·gam·mat·ed [dahy-gam-ey-tid], /daɪˈgæm eɪ tɪd/, adjective
Words Nearby digamma
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use digamma in a sentence
If V or F—the digamma is here admissible, then we arrive very near our own word Fish.
Further, the insignificance of Triptolemus and Eumolpus point to considerable antiquity, and the digamma is still active.
Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | Homer and HesiodThe figure of the letter F is the same as that of the ancient Greek digamma, which it also closely resembles in power.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia | VariousAlthough the digamma escapes our salt, somewhere he lurks on the lonely mountains.
Chimney-Pot Papers | Charles S. BrooksBut we are expressly told that it had the force and sound of the Greek digamma.
The Roman Pronunciation of Latin | Frances E. Lord
British Dictionary definitions for digamma
/ (daɪˈɡæmə) /
a letter of the Greek alphabet (Ϝ) 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
Origin of digamma
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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