alfa

Translingual

Noun

alfa

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

English

Etymology 1

Noun

alfa

2. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Alfa from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
4. (international standards) Alternative spelling of alpha used in the ruleset of the international nonproprietary name system, where various digraphs are usually deprecated (except for grandfathered exceptions) because their replacement is translingually preferable (thus, for example, f not ph, t not th, and e not ae).

Etymology 2

From Fula alfaa. Compare Yoruba àlùfáà.

Noun

alfa (plural alfas)

1. (Islam) A West African cleric or religious teacher.

Asturian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa f (plural alfes)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Noun

alfa f (plural alfes)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Further reading

• “alfa” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa n or f

1. alpha

Declension

when feminine:

Indeclinable when neuter.

Dutch

Alternative forms

• alpha (superseded)

Etymology

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. Doublet of alef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑl.faː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: al‧fa

Noun

alfa f (plural alfa's, diminutive alfaatje n)

1. The letter alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet).
2. Historically used in educational contexts to denote a humanistic orientation.

   Antonym: bèta

3. Someone who is educated in the humanities or otherwise prefers such subjects.

   Antonym: bèta

4. (ethology) A dominant animal.

Derived terms

Further reading

• alfa on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Finnish

Finnish Wikipedia has an article on:

alfa

Wikipedia ^fi

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑlf(ː)ɑ/,
• Rhymes: -ɑlfɑ
• Syllabification^(key): al‧fa

Noun

alfa

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α
2. alpha (person, especially a male, who is dominant, successful and attractive)

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• “alfa”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (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

French

Etymology

From Arabic حَلْفَاء (ḥalfāʔ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al.fa/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophone: alpha

Noun

alfa m (plural alfas)

1. esparto

Related terms

• alfatier

Further reading

• “alfa”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa m (plural alfas)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Etymology 2

Unknown origin. Possibly related to Latin ārefacere through Galician alfar. Or Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós.

Noun

alfa f (plural alfas)

1. hot air expelled from an oven
2. excessively hot air or wind
3. blaze of the sun
4. flame

   Synonyms: chama, lapa, laparada

Derived terms

• alfada

Etymology 3

Verb

alfa

1. inflection of alfar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

References

• “alfa” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “alfa” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “alfa” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Hungarian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: al‧fa
• Rhymes: -fɒ

Noun

alfa (plural alfák)

1. alpha

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• alfa 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
• alfa in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)

Icelandic

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa n (genitive singular alfa, no plural)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Declension

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. Doublet of alif.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (standard) /ˈal.fa/, (dialectal) /ˈal.pa/
• Rhymes: -fa, -a
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

Noun

alfa (plural alfa-alfa, first-person possessive alfaku, second-person possessive alfamu, third-person possessive alfanya)

1. alpha:
   1. The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A.
   2. first, see alpha and omega.

      Synonyms: pertama, permulaan

   3. (astronomy) Alpha, the brightest star in a constellation according to the Bayer designation.
   4. (electronics) common-base current gain of a transistor in electronics.
   5. (statistics) the significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level.

Further reading

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

Irish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa m (genitive singular alfa)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā).

Noun

alfa m (genitive singular alfa)

1. esparto, halfa

Declension

Mutation

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “alfa”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Entries containing “alfa” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “alfa” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.fa/
• Rhymes: -alfa
• Hyphenation: àl‧fa

Etymology 1

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

alfa

Wikipedia ^it

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

Alfa latina

Wikipedia ^it

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa m or f (invariable)

1. alpha, specifically:
   1. the name of the Greek-script letter Α/α
   2. The name of the Latin-script letter Ɑ.; Latin alpha

Related terms

Etymology 2

Italian Wikispecies has information on:

Stipa tenacissima

Wikispecies ^it Borrowed from Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā).

Noun

alfa f (plural alfe)

1. a grass, Stipa tenacissima; esparto, halfa

See also

• sparto

Anagrams

• fala

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

alfa

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha) (sense 1), and Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā) (sense 2).

Noun

alfa m (definite singular alfaen, indefinite plural alfaer, definite plural alfaene)

1. alpha, first letter of the Greek alphabet.
2. esparto grass, Stipa tenacissima

Synonyms

• (sense 2) alfagress

Derived terms

• alfastråling

References

• “alfa” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “alfa_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “alfa_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

alfa

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha) (sense 1), and Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā) (sense 2).

Noun

alfa m (definite singular alfaen, indefinite plural alfaer or alfaar, definite plural alfaene or alfaane)

1. alpha, first letter of the Greek alphabet.
2. esparto grass, Stipa tenacissima

Synonyms

• (sense 2) alfagras

Derived terms

• alfastråling

References

• “alfa” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Norse

Noun

alfa

1. accusative/genitive plural of alfr

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

alfa

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ /⁠ʾālep⁠/). First attested in 1533.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.fa/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alfa
• Syllabification: al‧fa

Noun

alfa f (indeclinable)

1. alpha (Greek letter Α, α)

   umieć alfę z betą (Middle Polish) ― to be educated

Declension

Or indeclinable.

Derived terms

References

Further reading

• alfa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• alfa in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Barbara Rykiel-Kempf (16.06.2020) “ALFA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “alfa”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “alfa”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “alfa”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 24

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alpha, from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. Doublet of alef.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -alfɐ, (Brazil) -awfɐ
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

Noun

alfa f (plural alfas)

1. alpha (name of the Greek letter Α, α)
2. (poetic) the beginning; the origin of something

   Synonyms: princípio, origem, começo

   Antonyms: ómega, ômega

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha).

Noun

alfa m (uncountable)

1. alpha

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /âlfa/
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

Noun

ȁlfa f (Cyrillic spelling а̏лфа)

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalfa/

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alfa
• Syllabification: al‧fa

Noun

alfa f (plural alfas)

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “alfa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

Noun

alfa n

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Anagrams

• fala