Omicron

Omicron (US: /ˈmɪkrɒn, ˈɒmɪkrɒn/, UK: / ˈmkrɒn/;[1] uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, Greek: όμικρον) is the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [o] in contrast to omega which represented the open-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [ɔː] and the digraph ου which represented the long close-mid back rounded vowel IPA: [oː]. In modern Greek, both omicron and omega represent the mid back rounded vowel IPA: [o̞] or IPA: [ɔ̝]. Letters that arose from omicron include Roman O and Cyrillic O|Ю (Cyrillic)|Ю. The word literally means "little O" (o mikron) as opposed to "great O" (ō mega).[2] In the system of Greek numerals, omicron has a value of 70.

  1. ^ "omicron". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ The Greek Alphabet

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