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eta

[ey-tuh, ee-tuh]
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noun
  1. the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet (H, η).
  2. the vowel sound represented by this letter.
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Origin of eta

< Greek êta; compare Hebrew ḥeth heth

E.T.A.

or ETA

  1. estimated time of arrival.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for eta

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Even as an Eta, an outcast, would I have loved and sought her.

    The Dragon Painter

    Mary McNeil Fenollosa

  • Maybe that was mean, but Eta Bita Pie is not to be trifled with when she is aroused.

    At Good Old Siwash

    George Fitch

  • "You become an eta if you marry her," Hoshiko's mother was saying.

    The Way of the Gods

    John Luther Long

  • For no goddess can be an eta—even if it were possible for a mortal as beautiful as you to be an eta.

    The Way of the Gods

    John Luther Long

  • No samurai in all the thousands of years of our empire has ever married an eta!

    The Way of the Gods

    John Luther Long

British Dictionary definitions for eta

eta1

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

Greek, of Phoenician origin; compare Hebrew heth

eta2

noun plural eta or etas
  1. (in Japan, formerly) a member of a class of outcasts who did menial and dirty tasks
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Word Origin

C19: Japanese

ETA1

abbreviation for
  1. estimated time of arrival
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ETA2

n acronym for
  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
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Word Origin

Basque, literally: Basque Nation and Liberty
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for eta

e.t.a.

abbreviation of estimated time (of) arrival, first attested 1939.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
eta in Medicine

eta

(ā′tə, ē′tə)
n.
  1. The seventh letter of the Greek alphabet.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.