Gamma

For Latin ɣ, see Latin gamma. For other uses, see Gamma (disambiguation).

Look up Γ or γ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Greek alphabet

Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega
Obsolete letters
	Digamma		Qoppa
	San		Sampi
Other characters
	Stigma		Sho
	Heta

Greek diacritics

Gamma (uppercase Γ, lowercase γ; Greek: Γάμμα) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Gimel . Letters that arose from Gamma include the Roman C and G and the Cyrillic letters Ge Г and Ghe Ґ.

In Modern Greek, it represents either a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ or a voiced palatal fricative /ʝ/. In Ancient Greek, it represented a voiced velar stop /ɡ/. Before velars, it represents a velar nasal /ŋ/ in Modern as well as Ancient Greek, and a double gamma represents the sequence /ŋɡ/ (phonetically varying [ŋg~g]) or /ŋɣ/.

Gamma combinations

The gamma can be combined with other letters or itself.

A double gamma (γγ) is pronounced like the ng in "finger"
A gamma with xi (γξ) is pronounced roughly like the nx in "sphinx"
(γχ) is pronounced like the nkh in "ankh"
A gamma combined with kappa (γκ) is pronounced like the nk in "banker"

Use as a symbol or a term

Gamma is often used to denote a variable in mathematics and physics. In certain areas it has a specific meaning, such as representing gamma radiation in nuclear physics and the Lorentz factor in theory of relativity. The lower case gamma is also used in engineering mechanics to symbolize specific weight. In mathematics, the gamma function (usually written as Γ-function) is an extension of the factorial to complex numbers.

Phonetics uses gamma as the symbol for the voiced velar fricative.

Gamma

Gamma combinations

Use as a symbol or a term

See also