Sigmate
/ˈsɪɡ.meɪt/noun
Shaped like the Greek letter sigma, especially in zoological or botanical descriptions.
Did you know?The word ultimately invokes sigma, the Greek letter whose name and shape were inherited through ancient Mediterranean writing traditions, though “sigmate” itself is a later scientific formation.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Phoenician
Phoenician
𐤎 (samekh)
“A letter associated with the sibilant sound /s/; the ancestral sign traditionally connected with Greek sigma.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σίγμα (sígma)
“The name of the Greek letter Σ, σ, or ς, representing an /s/ sound.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
sigma
“The Greek letter, used in learned and grammatical writing.”
17th–18th Century
Scientific Latin
sigmoid
“S-shaped or resembling the Greek letter sigma; a related technical formation.”
19th Century
English
sigmate
“Sigma-shaped, chiefly in specialized descriptive science.”
Modern English
English
sigmate
“Having the form of, or resembling, the Greek letter sigma.”