Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.
  • noun An object shaped like a triangle.
  • noun A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.
  • noun A similar deposit at the mouth of a tidal inlet, caused by tidal currents.
  • noun Mathematics A finite increment in a variable.
  • adjective Being in the fourth position relative to a designated carbon atom in an organic molecule at which an atom or a group may be substituted.
  • adjective Referring to the fourth of a group of isomers, or molecules of similar origin or properties, determined arbitrarily by those who discover or classify them. Used in combination.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The name of the Greek letter Δ, δ, answering to the Latin and English D. See D.
  • noun A triangular island or alluvial tract included between the diverging branches of the mouth of a great river: as, the delta of the Nile, of the Ganges, of the Mississippi, etc.
  • noun In anatomy, a triangular space or surface.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ δ), corresponding to d.
  • noun A tract of land shaped like the letter delta (Δ), especially when the land is alluvial and inclosed between two or more mouths of a river.
  • noun (Elec.) The closed figure produced by connecting three coils or circuits successively, end for end, esp. in a three-phase system; -- often used attributively

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The fourth letter of the modern Greek alphabet Δ, δ.
  • noun A landform at the mouth of a river where it empties into a body of water.
  • noun The letter D in the ICAO spelling alphabet, which assigns words to letters of the alphabet.
  • noun mathematics The symbol Δ.
  • noun computing, informal A small but noticeable effect, compare with epsilon.
  • noun computing The set of differences between two versions of a file.
  • noun surveying The angle subtended at the center of a circular arc.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an object shaped like an equilateral triangle
  • noun a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water
  • noun the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Latin, from Greek, of Phoenician origin; see dl in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek δέλτα (delta).

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The word delta has been adopted in honor of Adrienne N.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "Blues" makes me think of the Mississippi delta. See Free Association.

    February 6, 2008

  • 4th letter of the Greek alphabet. Derived from the Phoenician letter 'Dalet' (meaning 'door' or maybe 'fish'!) River deltas are called that because of the uppercase delta (Δ) which is shaped like a river delta.

    June 23, 2008