upsilon
[yoop-suh-lon, -luh n, uhp-; especially British yoop-sahy-luh n]
- the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- the vowel sound represented by this letter.
- Also called upsilon particle. Physics. any of a family of heavy, short-lived, neutral mesons that are composed of a bottom quark and its antiquark. Symbol: Υ, υ
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Origin of upsilon
1615–25; < Late Greek ŷ psīlón literally, simple u (to distinguish it from the digraph oi, pronounced the same in LGk)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for upsilon
Historical Examples
This species is the ypsilon of Borkhausen, and the upsilon of other authors.
The Moths of the British Isles, Second SeriesRichard South
She issued an order, therefore, that for a certain time Upsilon was to have no playthings.
Walter PieterseMultatuli
upsilon
- the 20th letter in the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ), a vowel, transliterated as y or u
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Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Greek u psilon simple u, name adopted for graphic u to avoid confusion with graphic oi, since pronunciation was the same for both in Late Greek
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for upsilon
"20th letter of the Greek alphabet," 1640s, from Greek u psilon, literally "a mere (or bare) 'u;' " so called in contradistinction to the diphthongs -oi-, -ei-, which are pronounced exactly like upsilon.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
upsilon
- The 20th 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.