delta

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
6
Words With Friends
7
Letters
5
Pronunciation
/ˈdɛltə/
See all 2 pronunciations
/ˈdɛltə/ · [ˈdɛɫtə]

Definition of delta

36 senses · 3 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. The fourth letter of the modern Greek alphabet Δ, δ.
See all 36 definitions

noun

  1. The fourth letter of the modern Greek alphabet Δ, δ.
  2. A landform at the mouth of a river where it empties into a body of water.
    “Nile Delta”
  3. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Delta from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
  4. The symbol Δ; A change in a quantity, likely from "d" for "difference".
    “ΔV - "delta vee"(change in velocity, used in rocketry and orbital mechanics)”
  5. The rate of change in an option value with respect to the underlying asset's price.
  6. A value in delta notation indicating the relative abundances of isotopes.
  7. The set of differences between two versions of a file.
    “When you update the file, the system will only save the deltas.”
  8. (informal)A small but noticeable effect. Compare epsilon.
    “This will slow the main code path down, but only by delta.”
  9. The angle subtended at the center of a circular arc.
  10. A type of cargo bike that has one wheel in front and two in back.
  11. (attributive, often)The closed figure produced by connecting three coils or circuits successively, end for end, especially in a three-phase system.
    “delta winding; delta connection; delta current”
  12. (Space-Force, US)A military unit, nominally headed by a colonel, equivalent to a USAF operations wing, or an army regiment.
  13. a star that is usually the fourth brightest of a constellation.
  14. 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)
  15. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of delta variant (variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus).
  16. The Delta variant of COVID-19.
    “Delta is moderately resistant to vaccines, particularly in people who have received just a single dose.”
  17. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of)Acronym of Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, an advanced qualification to teach English, higher than the CELTA, accredited by the University of Cambridge.

verb

  1. To calculate the differences between the characters in an enciphered text and the characters a fixed number of positions previous.
    “Turingery worked on deltaed key to produce the deltaed contribution of the chi-wheels. Turing's discovery that delta-ing would reveal information otherwise hidden was essential to the developments that followed.”
  2. To compare two versions of the same file in order to determine where they differ (where a programmer has made edits).
    “The primary function of this command is to delta the product version file (if it has been retrieved for edit). However, prior to deltaing the product version file, the work source tree is searched to verify that no other source files are still waiting to be deltaed.”

name

  1. A state of Nigeria in the South South geopolitical zone. Capital: Asaba. Largest city: Warri.
  2. A municipality in Central Macedonia, Greece.
  3. A municipality of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
  4. A municipality of British Columbia, Canada.
    “The xʷəxʷilməxʷ (Indigenous Peoples) recognized how the meeting of the təməxʷ (land), stal̓əw̓ (river), and k̓ʷaƛ̓k̓ʷa (sea) could provide an abundance of access to seasonal resources, as well as provide a more permanent residence for the scəw̓aθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen Peoples). The features of this landscape are part of what makes Delta a beautiful place for all to enjoy today.”
  5. A village in Ontario, Canada.
  6. A number of places in the United States:
  7. A number of places in the United States:
  8. A number of places in the United States:
  9. A number of places in the United States:
  10. A number of places in the United States:
  11. A number of places in the United States:
  12. A number of places in the United States:
  13. A number of places in the United States:
  14. A number of places in the United States:
  15. A number of places in the United States:
  16. A number of places in the United States:
  17. A number of places in the United States:

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

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

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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