Eta
/ˈeɪtə/noun
The seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, written Η or η, representing a long e sound in Classical Greek.
Did you know?Eta began as a consonant symbol borrowed from the Phoenician alphabet, but Greek repurposed it to represent a vowel—the first major alphabetic innovation of its kind.
Etymological Timeline
1st Millennium BCE
Phoenician
𐤇
“The Phoenician letter ḥēt, a consonant sign that Greek later adapted; its original name is traditionally associated with a fence or enclosure, though the interpretation is debated.”
8th Century BCE
Archaic Greek
ἦτα
“Greek ēta, borrowed from the Phoenician letter tradition and reassigned from a consonant to the long open e vowel /ɛː/.”
Classical Greek
Greek
ἦτα
“The seventh Greek letter, Η or η, pronounced as a long e sound in the classical period.”
Late Antiquity
Koine Greek
ἦτα
“As Greek pronunciation changed, eta increasingly merged in sound with iota and other letters representing /i/.”
16th Century
English
eta
“English adopted eta as the name of the Greek letter, commonly pronounced “AY-tuh” or “EE-tuh.””
Modern English
English
eta
“The Greek letter η, used in mathematics, science, linguistics, and fraternity or sorority naming.”
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