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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  

[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.

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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

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

About one-thirtieth of the times that a pi meson hit a deuterium nucleus, out came the eta meson, which decays into three pions.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From National Geographic

SOCRATES: Ephaistos is Phaistos, and has added the eta by attraction; that is obvious to anybody.

From Cratylus by Jowett, Benjamin

The actor Alan Cumming teams up with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for this new take on E.T.A.

From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2021

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

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

There sat the eccentric Louis Boehner,1 who long ago had served as the model for E.T.A.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 71, September, 1863 by Various

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

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

However, if a person's ETA application is refused, they cannot appeal and instead need to apply for a visa to visit the UK.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

I let it go to voice mail and shoot her a quick text to give her my ETA.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed