delta

English Online Dictionary. What means delta‎? What does delta mean?

Translingual

Noun

delta

1. Alternative letter-case form of Delta of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet.

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta), borrowed from a Phoenician word for "door", ultimately from Proto-Semitic *dalt-. Doublet of dalet.

• (river): from the triangular shape of the majuscule Greek letter delta Δ
• (USSF): from the delta wing, symbol of the USSF, a triangular wing, shaped like the majuscule Greek letter delta Δ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛltə/, [ˈdɛɫtə]
• Rhymes: -ɛltə

Noun

delta (plural deltas)

2. The fourth letter of the modern Greek alphabet Δ, δ.
4. A landform at the mouth of a river where it empties into a body of water.

5. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Delta from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
6. (mathematics, physics, engineering) The symbol Δ; A change in a quantity, likely from "d" for "difference".

7. (finance) The rate of change in an option value with respect to the underlying asset's price.
8. (chemistry) A value in delta notation indicating the relative abundances of isotopes.
9. (computing) The set of differences between two versions of a file.

10. (computing, informal) A small but noticeable effect. Compare epsilon.

11. (surveying) The angle subtended at the center of a circular arc.
12. A type of cargo bike that has one wheel in front and two in back.
13. (electrical, often attributive) The closed figure produced by connecting three coils or circuits successively, end for end, especially in a three-phase system.

14. (US, military, U.S. Space Force) A military unit, nominally headed by a colonel, equivalent to a USAF operations wing, or an army regiment.
15. (astronomy) a star that is usually the fourth brightest of a constellation.
16. (physics) one of four baryons consisting of up and down quarks with a combined spin of 3/2: Δ⁺⁺ (uuu), Δ⁺ (uud), Δ⁰ (udd), or Δ⁻ (ddd)
17. (medicine) Short for delta variant. (variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus)

Synonyms

• (USSF): garrison (a support wing equivalent)

Hypernyms

• (measure of derivative price sensitivity): Greeks (includes list of coordinate terms)
• (particle physics): baryon; resonance

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• deltoid
• Appendix: IPA examples

Verb

delta (third-person singular simple present deltas, present participle deltaing, simple past and past participle deltaed)

1. (cryptography) To calculate the differences between the characters in an enciphered text and the characters a fixed number of positions previous.
2. (computing) To compare two versions of the same file in order to determine where they differ (where a programmer has made edits).

Anagrams

• atled, Tedla, lated, Adlet, dealt, dalet, adlet, taled

Asturian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Noun

delta f (plural deltes)

1. delta (Greek letter)

Noun

delta m (plural deltes)

1. delta (landform at the mouth of a river)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈdɛl.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈdel.ta]

Noun

delta f (plural deltes)

1. delta; the Greek letter Δ (lowercase δ)
2. (geography) a delta

Derived terms

• metall delta

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɛlta]

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta), which is probably of Semitic origin.

Noun

delta n (indeclinable)

1. Delta (Greek letter Δ)
2. (physics) kind of rays consisting of secondary electrons with enough energy to escape a significant distance away from the primary radiation beam and produce further ionization (delta ray)

Adjective

delta (indeclinable)

1. having the shape of the Greek letter Δ

   delta křídlo ― delta wing

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta). Originally used for the delta of the Nile, because its forked shape resembled the Greek letter Δ. The word is probably of Semitic origin.

Noun

delta f (relational adjective deltový)

1. (geography) delta (forked mouth of a river)

Declension

References

Further reading

• “delta”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “delta”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Anagrams

• datel
• datle

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Noun

delta n (singular definite deltaet, plural indefinite deltaer)

1. a river delta
2. delta (the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, Δ, δ.)

Declension

References

• “delta” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta). Doublet of dalet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛl.taː/
• Hyphenation: del‧ta

Noun

delta f (plural delta's, diminutive deltaatje n)

1. the Greek letter delta
2. a river delta, a network of one or more rivers and tributaries pouring out into a larger body of water

   Synonym: rivierdelta

Hypernyms

Coordinate terms

• estuarium

Derived terms

Finnish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdelt(ː)ɑ/, [ˈde̞l̪t̪(ː)ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -eltɑ
• Hyphenation^(key): del‧ta

Noun

delta

1. delta (Greek letter)

Declension

Derived terms

See also

• suisto

Further reading

• “delta”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Anagrams

• dalet

French

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛl.ta/

Noun

delta m (plural delta or deltas)

1. delta (Greek letter)

Noun

delta m (plural deltas)

1. delta (geographical feature)

   Hypernym: embouchure

Further reading

• “delta”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Noun

delta m (plural deltas)

1. delta (Greek letter)
2. delta (landform at the mouth of a river)

Hungarian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɛltɒ]
• Hyphenation: del‧ta
• Rhymes: -tɒ

Noun

delta (plural delták)

1. delta (Greek letter)
2. delta (landform at the mouth of a river)

Declension

Further reading

• delta in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• delta in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Icelandic

Noun

delta f (genitive singular deltu, nominative plural deltur) or
delta n (genitive singular delta, nominative plural deltu)

1. delta (Greek letter)

Declension

Indonesian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɛlta]
• Hyphenation: dèl‧ta

Noun

delta

1. delta,
   1. The fourth letter of the modern Greek alphabet Δ, δ.
   2. (geography) A landform at the mouth of a river where it empties into a body of water.

Further reading

• “delta” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛl.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɛlta
• Hyphenation: dèl‧ta

Noun

delta m (invariable)

1. delta (all senses)

Derived terms

• ala a delta
• deltaplano

Anagrams

• dalet

Latvian

Noun

delta f (4th declension)

1. delta (Greek letter)
2. delta (landform at the mouth of a river)

Declension

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Noun

delta m (definite singular deltaen, indefinite plural deltaer, definite plural deltaene)

1. the Greek letter Δ, δ (delta)

Etymology 2

Noun

delta n (definite singular deltaet, indefinite plural delta or deltaer, definite plural deltaene)

1. a river delta

Derived terms

• elvedelta

Etymology 3

From del (“part”) + ta (“take”); i.e. to take (a) part in something; to partake in something.

Verb

delta (imperative delta, present tense deltar, passive deltas, simple past deltok, past participle deltatt, present participle deltakende)

1. to participate; to partake

Related terms

• deltagelse, deltakelse
• deltager, deltaker

References

• “delta” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From del (“part”) + ta (“take”); i.e. to take (a) part in something.

Alternative forms

• deltaka, deltake (long forms)

Verb

delta (present tense deltek or deltar, past tense deltok, past participle delteke or deltatt, passive infinitive delteken, present participle deltakande, imperative delta)

1. to participate

Related terms

• deltakar

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Noun

delta m (definite singular deltaen, indefinite plural deltaer or deltaar, definite plural deltaene or deltaane)

2. the Greek letter Δ, δ (delta)

Etymology 3

A specialized use of delta (Etymology 2).

Noun

delta n (definite singular deltaet, indefinite plural delta, definite plural deltaa)

2. a river delta

Derived terms

• elvedelta

References

• “delta” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta), from Phoenician 𐤃 (d /⁠dalet⁠/).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛl.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɛlta
• Syllabification: del‧ta

Noun

delta f

1. delta (Greek letter Δ, δ)
2. (mathematics, colloquial) discriminant

   Synonym: wyróżnik

3. (geography) delta (landform at the mouth of a river)
4. (aeronautics) delta wing

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• delta in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• delta in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: del‧ta

Noun

delta m (plural deltas)

1. delta (Greek letter)
2. delta (landform at the mouth of a river)

Derived terms

• asa-delta

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dêlta/
• Hyphenation: del‧ta

Noun

dȅlta f (Cyrillic spelling де̏лта)

1. delta, the Greek letter Δ, δ

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdelta/ [ˈd̪el̪.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -elta
• Syllabification: del‧ta

Noun

delta f (plural deltas)

1. Greek letter delta

Derived terms

Noun

delta m (plural deltas)

1. (geography) a delta

Related terms

Further reading

• “delta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from English delta.

Pronunciation

Noun

delta class IX (plural delta class X)

1. delta (landform at the mouth of a river)

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (délta).

Noun

delta n

1. the Greek letter Δ, δ (delta)
2. a river delta

Declension

Etymology 2

From del (“part”) +‎ ta(ga) (“take”), i.e. to take part in something. Compare English partake.

Alternative forms

• deltaga (dated)

Pronunciation

Verb

delta (present deltar, preterite deltog, supine deltagit, imperative delta)

1. to participate, to take part
   1. to attend

Conjugation

Related terms

• deltagare

References

• delta in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• delta in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• delta in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• delat, talde