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• 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  

[ay-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.

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E.T.A. ² American  

Or ETA

abbreviation

1. estimated time of arrival.

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ETA ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. estimated time of arrival

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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

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eta ³ British  

/ ˈiːtə /

noun

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

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eta ⁴ British  

/ ˈeɪtə /

noun

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

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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

Eu ad; Icel eta eat; Dak ta eat.

From The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages by A. W. (Andrew Woods) Williamson

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King This new holiday special draws on the 1818 book by E.T.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2021

I really enjoyed “The Nutcracker”! I know that it is based on a story by E.T.A.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2019

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

Jacques Offenbach never finished “The Tales of Hoffmann,” his magic-infused, dark comic opera inspired by the work of the Prussian fantasy writer E.T.A.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2016

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

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

Visitors to the UK need an ETA if they do not need a visa for short stays of up to six months, or do not already have a UK immigration status.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

Connecting passengers only need an ETA if they are connecting to a flight within the U.K.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

“Yeah, man. Current ETA for basketball game on Sunday is fourteen hundred hours. How copy?”

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser