Gamma 12257 222978064 2008-07-02T00:32:57Z Stub12718696 7369800 {{Two other uses||Latin {{IPA|ɣ}}|Latin gamma||}} {{wiktionarypar2|Γ|γ}} {{Table_Greekletters|letter=gamma}} '''Gamma''' (uppercase '''&Gamma;''', lowercase '''&gamma;'''; {{lang-el|Γάμμα}}) is the third letter of the [[Greek alphabet]]. In the system of [[Greek numerals]] it has a value of 3. It was derived from the [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician letter]] [[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]] [[Image:phoenician_gimel.png|20px|Gimel]]. Letters that arose from Gamma include the Roman [[C]] and [[G]] and the Cyrillic letters [[Ge (Cyrillic)|Ge]] Г and [[Ghe (Cyrillic)|Ghe]] Ґ. In [[Greek language|Modern Greek]], it represents either a [[voiced velar fricative]] {{IPA|/ɣ/}} or a [[voiced palatal fricative]] {{IPA|/ʝ/}}. In [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]], it represented a [[voiced velar stop]] {{IPA|/ɡ/}}. Before velars, it represents a [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|/ŋ/}} in Modern as well as Ancient Greek, and a double gamma represents a [[prenasalized]] [[voiced velar stop]] ({{IPA|/ŋɡ/}}). == Gamma combinations == The gamma can be combined with other letters or itself. *A double gamma (γγ) is pronounced like the ng in "jumpi'''ng'''" *A gamma with xi (γξ) is pronounced roughly like the nx in "Sphi'''nx'''" *A gamma with chi (γχ) is pronounced like the nkh in "a'''nkh'''" *A gamma combined with kappa (γκ) is pronounced like the nk in "ba'''nk'''er" == Use as a symbol or a term == {{main|Gamma (disambiguation)}} <!--!Beginning of 'info paragraph'. Here you can put down sentence wise information about the paragraph below.!--> Gamma is often used to denote a variable in [[mathematics]] and [[physics]]. In certain areas it has a specific meaning, such as representing [[gamma radiation]] in [[nuclear physics]] and the [[Lorentz factor]] in [[theory of relativity]]. In mathematics, there is a [[gamma function]] (usually written as Γ-function.) <!--!end of 'info paragraph'!--> <!-- Please put any additional meanings on the disambig page, this page is about the Greek letter.--> [[Category:Greek letters]] [[ext:Gama]] [[als:Γ]] [[ar:غاما (حرف إغريقي)]] [[arc:Γ]] [[ast:Gamma]] [[br:Gamma (lizherenn)]] [[bg:Гама (буква)]] [[ca:Gamma]] [[cy:Gamma]] [[da:Gamma (bogstav)]] [[de:Gamma]] [[el:Γάμμα]] [[es:Γ]] [[eo:Gamo (litero)]] [[eu:Gamma (greko)]] [[fr:Gamma]] [[ga:Gáma]] [[gv:Gamma]] [[gd:Gamma]] [[gl:Gamma]] [[ko:Γ]] [[hr:Gama]] [[id:Gamma (huruf Yunani)]] [[is:Gamma]] [[it:Gamma (lettera)]] [[he:גמא (אות)]] [[ka:გამა (ასო)]] [[sw:Gamma]] [[ht:Γ]] [[ku:Gamma]] [[la:Gamma]] [[lt:Gama (raidė)]] [[hu:Gamma]] [[ms:Gama]] [[nah:Γ]] [[nl:Gamma (letter)]] [[ja:Γ]] [[no:Gamma]] [[nn:Gamma]] [[nds:Gamma]] [[pl:Gamma]] [[pt:Γ]] [[ru:Гамма (буква)]] [[simple:Gamma]] [[sk:Gama (grécke písmeno)]] [[sl:Gama]] [[sr:Гама]] [[sh:Gama]] [[fi:Gamma]] [[sv:Gamma]] [[th:แกมมา]] [[tr:Γ]] [[uk:Гамма (літера)]] [[zh:Γ]]