sigma

[sig-muh]

noun

the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet: Σ, σ, ς.
the consonant sound represented by this letter.

Origin of sigma

1600–10; < Latin < Greek sígma

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sigma

Contemporary Examples of sigma

Lohse rushes Sigma Alpha Epsilon, gets a bid, endures pledge term, and then submits to the dehumanizing rigors of Hell Night.
An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance
Stefan Beck
November 24, 2014
Pledging, also known as initiation, will now be abolished by Sigma Alpha Epsilon nationally across its 240 chapters.
Deadly Frat Rituals Are Banned Thanks to Technology
Joe Concha
March 10, 2014

Historical Examples of sigma

And all of these records were summed up, integrated, into the "Sigma" curve.
The Vortex Blaster
Edward Elmer Smith
Sigma is thanked: but he will see that we could not now alter the size of our volumes.
Notes and Queries, Number 169, January 22, 1853
Various
Sigmoid, curved in two directions, like the letter S, or the Greek sigma.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray
Take colour, for instance; and we shall perceive that in the Dromius sigma, Rossi, it is sensibly affected.
On the Variation of Species, with Especial Reference to the Insecta ; Followed by an Inquiry into the Nature of Genera
Thomas Vernon Wollaston
There he began to find himself, and became one of the popular men in his class and in the Sigma Phi Fraternity.
Frank H. Nelson of Cincinnati
Warren C. Herrick

British Dictionary definitions for sigma

sigma

noun

the 18th letter in the Greek alphabet (Σ, σ, or, when final, ς), a consonant, transliterated as S
maths the symbol Σ, indicating summation of the numbers or quantities indicated

Word Origin for sigma

Greek, of Semitic origin; related to Hebrew samekh

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 sigma

18th letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to Latin S, a metathesis of Hebrew samekh. In uncial writing, shaped like an S or a C.

sigma in Medicine