alfa
Translingual
    

English
    
    
Noun
    
alfa
- (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Alfa from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
- (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).
Asturian
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Catalan
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
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.
Declension
    
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Dutch
    
    Alternative forms
    
- alpha (superseded)
Etymology
    
Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Pronunciation
    
- IPA(key): /ˈɑl.faː/
- Audio - (file) 
- Hyphenation: al‧fa
Noun
    
alfa f (plural alfa's, diminutive alfaatje n)
Derived terms
    
- alfamannetje
- alfawetenschap
- alfawijfje
Finnish
    
| Αα | Previous: | n/a | 
|---|---|---|
| Next: | beeta | 
Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Pronunciation
    
- IPA(key): /ˈɑlf(ː)ɑ/, [ˈɑ̝lf(ː)ɑ̝]
- Rhymes: -ɑlfɑ
- Syllabification(key): al‧fa
Noun
    
alfa
Declension
    
| Inflection of alfa (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | alfa | alfat | ||
| genitive | alfan | alfojen | ||
| partitive | alfaa | alfoja | ||
| illative | alfaan | alfoihin | ||
| singular | plural | |||
| nominative | alfa | alfat | ||
| accusative | nom. | alfa | alfat | |
| gen. | alfan | |||
| genitive | alfan | alfojen alfainrare | ||
| partitive | alfaa | alfoja | ||
| inessive | alfassa | alfoissa | ||
| elative | alfasta | alfoista | ||
| illative | alfaan | alfoihin | ||
| adessive | alfalla | alfoilla | ||
| ablative | alfalta | alfoilta | ||
| allative | alfalle | alfoille | ||
| essive | alfana | alfoina | ||
| translative | alfaksi | alfoiksi | ||
| instructive | — | alfoin | ||
| abessive | alfatta | alfoitta | ||
| comitative | See the possessive forms below. | |||
| Possessive forms of alfa (type kala) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Compounds
    
French
    
    Pronunciation
    
- Audio - (file) 
Related terms
    
Further reading
    
- “alfa”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Hungarian
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Pronunciation
    
- IPA(key): [ˈɒlfɒ]
- Hyphenation: al‧fa
- Rhymes: -fɒ
Declension
    
| Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony) | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| nominative | alfa | alfák | 
| accusative | alfát | alfákat | 
| dative | alfának | alfáknak | 
| instrumental | alfával | alfákkal | 
| causal-final | alfáért | alfákért | 
| translative | alfává | alfákká | 
| terminative | alfáig | alfákig | 
| essive-formal | alfaként | alfákként | 
| essive-modal | — | — | 
| inessive | alfában | alfákban | 
| superessive | alfán | alfákon | 
| adessive | alfánál | alfáknál | 
| illative | alfába | alfákba | 
| sublative | alfára | alfákra | 
| allative | alfához | alfákhoz | 
| elative | alfából | alfákból | 
| delative | alfáról | alfákról | 
| ablative | alfától | alfáktól | 
| non-attributive possessive - singular | alfáé | alfáké | 
| non-attributive possessive - plural | alfáéi | alfákéi | 
| Possessive forms of alfa | ||
|---|---|---|
| possessor | single possession | multiple possessions | 
| 1st person sing. | alfám | alfáim | 
| 2nd person sing. | alfád | alfáid | 
| 3rd person sing. | alfája | alfái | 
| 1st person plural | alfánk | alfáink | 
| 2nd person plural | alfátok | alfáitok | 
| 3rd person plural | alfájuk | alfáik | 
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 2023)
Icelandic
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Declension
    
| n-w | singular | |
|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | alfa | alfað | 
| accusative | alfa | alfað | 
| dative | alfa | alfanu | 
| genitive | alfa | alfans | 
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)
- alpha:
- 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.
- first, see alpha and omega.
- Synonyms: pertama, permulaan
 
- (astronomy) Alpha, the brightest star in a constellation according to the Bayer designation.
- (electronics) common-base current gain of a transistor in electronics.
- (statistics) the significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level.
 
Further reading
    
- “alfa” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Irish
    
    Etymology 1
    
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Derived terms
    
- alfa-cháithnín m (“alpha particle”)
- alfa-gha m (“alpha wave”)
- alfa-héilics m (“alpha helix”)
- alfa-radaíocht (“alpha radiation”)
- alfa-rithim (“alpha rhythm”)
- alfa-thástáil (“alpha test”)
- alfa-uimhir (“alphanumeric”, noun)
- alfa-uimhriúil (“alphanumeric”, adjective)
- fireannach alfa (“alpha male”)
Etymology 2
    
From Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā).
Declension
    
Fourth declension
| Bare forms (no plural of this noun) 
 | Forms with the definite article 
 | 
Mutation
    
| Irish mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis | 
| alfa | n-alfa | halfa | t-alfa | 
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
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
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Noun
    
alfa m or f (invariable)
- alpha, specifically:
- the name of the Greek-script letter Α/α
- The name of the Latin-script letter Ɑ.; Latin alpha
 
See also
    
Anagrams
    
Norwegian Bokmål
    
    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)
- alpha, first letter of the Greek alphabet.
- esparto grass, Stipa tenacissima
Synonyms
    
- (sense 2) alfagress
Derived terms
    
Norwegian Nynorsk
    
    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)
- alpha, first letter of the Greek alphabet.
- esparto grass, Stipa tenacissima
Synonyms
    
- (sense 2) alfagras
Derived terms
    
References
    
- “alfa” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old Norse
    
    
Polish
    
    Etymology
    
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha),[1] from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ /ʾālep/). First attested in 1533.[2]
Pronunciation
    
- IPA(key): /ˈal.fa/
- Audio - (file) 
- Rhymes: -alfa
- Syllabification: al‧fa
Noun
    
alfa f (indeclinable)
- alpha (Greek letter Α, α)
- umieć alfę z betą (Middle Polish) ― to be educated
 
Declension
    
Or indeclinable.
Derived terms
    
References
    
- Mirosław Bańko; Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021) Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
- “alfa”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish], 2010-2022
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.
Romanian
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha).
Declension
    
| singular | ||
|---|---|---|
| m gender | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | 
| nominative/accusative | (un) alfa | alfaul | 
| genitive/dative | (unui) alfa | alfaului | 
| vocative | alfaule | |
Serbo-Croatian
    
    Etymology
    
From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Pronunciation
    
- IPA(key): /âlfa/
- Hyphenation: al‧fa
Spanish
    
    Etymology
    
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.
Pronunciation
    
- IPA(key): /ˈalfa/ [ˈal.fa]
- Rhymes: -alfa
- Syllabification: al‧fa
Derived terms
    
Related terms
    
Further reading
    
- “alfa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014