Omicron
From Textus Receptus
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| - | Omicron (uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, literally "small o" : Όμικρον, o mikron, micron meaning 'small' in contrast to omega) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 70. It is rarely used in mathematics because it is indistinguishable from the Latin letter O and easily confused with the digit 0. This letter is | + | [[Image:Omicron.png|thumb|150px|Omicron]] |
| + | '''Omicron''' (uppercase '''Ο''', lowercase '''ο''', literally "small o": Όμικρον, ''o mikron'', micron meaning 'small' in contrast to ''[[omega]]'') is the 15th letter of the [[Greek alphabet]]. In the system of [[Greek numerals]] it has a value of 70. It is rarely used in mathematics because it is indistinguishable from the [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] letter [[O]] and easily confused with the [[Numerical digit|digit]] [[0 (number)|0]]. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter [[Ayin]]. In [[modern Greek]], Omicron represents the sound ɔ. Letters that arose from omicron include Roman [[O]] and Cyrillic [[O (Cyrillic)|O]]. | ||
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| + | In [[Unicode]] the [[majuscule|capital]] letter is codepoint U+039F and the [[Lower case|lowercase]] is U+03BF. | ||
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| + | The upper-case letter of '''omicron''' (O) was originally used as a symbol for [[Big O notation]], representing the asymptotic rate of growth of a function in mathematics. | ||
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| + | ==In popular culture== | ||
| + | * Omicron is frequently used to designate the thirteenth star in a constellation group, using a combination of magnitude and position.<sup>[1]</sup> Stars with the omicron designation include [[Omicron Andromedae]], [[Omicron Ceti]], and [[Omicron Persei]], which is well-known due to its [[Stars and planetary systems in fiction#Omicron Persei|use in science fiction]], including [[Star Trek]], [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]], [[Transformers]], and [[Futurama]]. | ||
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| + | ==References== | ||
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| + | [[Category:Greek letters]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Vowel letters]] | ||
Revision as of 07:44, 20 March 2011
Omicron (uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, literally "small o": Όμικρον, o mikron, micron meaning 'small' in contrast to omega) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 70. It is rarely used in mathematics because it is indistinguishable from the Latin letter O and easily confused with the digit 0. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter Ayin. In modern Greek, Omicron represents the sound ɔ. Letters that arose from omicron include Roman O and Cyrillic O.
In Unicode the capital letter is codepoint U+039F and the lowercase is U+03BF.
The upper-case letter of omicron (O) was originally used as a symbol for Big O notation, representing the asymptotic rate of growth of a function in mathematics.
In popular culture
- Omicron is frequently used to designate the thirteenth star in a constellation group, using a combination of magnitude and position.[1] Stars with the omicron designation include Omicron Andromedae, Omicron Ceti, and Omicron Persei, which is well-known due to its use in science fiction, including Star Trek, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Transformers, and Futurama.
