sigma

Look up Σ, σ, or ς in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega
Obsolete letters
	Digamma		Qoppa
	San		Sampi
Other characters
	Stigma		Sho
	Heta
Greek diacritics

The Madaba Map, a sixth-century mosaic map of Jerusalem ("Η ΑΓΙΑ ПОΛΙΣ") uses the lunate sigma.

Sigma (upper case Σ, lower case σ; Greek Σιγμα, lower case in word-final position ς) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the /s/ sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form (ς) is used. (e.g. Ὀδυσσεύς (Odysseus) - Note the two sigmas in the center of the name, and the word-final sigma at the end.) It is not to be confused with the cedilla ç.

The letter is ultimately derived from Phoenician Šin 𐤔. However, its name derives from Samekh.

The uppercase form of sigma was borrowed into the Latin alphabet to serve as the uppercase of esh (lowercase: ʃ).

Disigma, or "double sigma", is a non-current term for the character Sampi. [1]

Lunate sigma

In Eastern forms of Greek writing (as opposed to the Western Greek alphabet used in the European Greek colonies) and in the Middle Ages, the lunate sigma (upper case Ϲ, lower case ϲ) — which resembles, but which is not at all related to, the Latin letter C — was often used. Lunate sigma was frequently used for writing Medieval Greek, and can still be seen in inscriptions in Greek Orthodox churches, and also in certain printed editions of classical authors.

The form of the Cyrillic letter С [s] and Coptic letter sima are derived from lunate sigma.

On coins from the Hellenistic period in India, the script of later coins sometimes use lunate sigma. This sigma continued to be written this way also in Medieval Greek.

A dotted lunate sigma (sigma periestigmenon, encoded at U+03FE Ͼ) was used by Aristarchus of Samothrace as an editorial sign indicating that the line so marked is at an incorrect position. Similarly, an antisigma (encoded at U+03FD Ͻ) may mark a line that is out of place. A dotted antisigma (antisigma periestigmenon, encoded at U+03FF Ͽ) may indicate a line after which rearrangements should be made, or to variant readings of uncertain priority.

Science and mathematics

Upper case Σ is used as a symbol for:

• the summation operator
• a class of baryons in particle physics
• macroscopic cross sections in nuclear and particle physics
• self-energy in condensed matter physics
• the balance of the invoice classes and the overall amount of the debts and demands in economics
• the set of symbols that form an alphabet in linguistics and computer science

Lower case σ is used for:

• sigma bonds in chemistry
• the Sigma receptor
• the standard deviation of a population or probability distribution in statistics
• a quality model for business, Six Sigma, based on the standard deviation, often referred to as "6σ"
• sigma-algebras, sigma-fields and sigma-finiteness in measure theory; more generally, the symbol σ serves as a shorthand for "countably", e.g. a σ-compact topological space is one that can be written as a countable union of compact subsets.
• the generated sigma-algebra of a set A is denoted σ(A)
• the sum-of-divisors function in number theory
• the Stefan-Boltzmann constant
• the "sigma factor" of RNA polymerase
• a measure of electrical conductivity
• the Surface charge density in electrostatics
• Normal stress in continuum mechanics
• volatility of a stock generally needed for options pricing
• a syllable in phonology
• the spectrum of a matrix A, denoted as σ(A), in applied mathematics
• surface tension
• the unary operation of selection on a database relation in relational algebra
• the Pauli matrices in quantum mechanics

Politics

During the 1930s, an upper case Σ was in use as the symbol of the Ação Integralista Brasileira, a radical right-wing party in Brazil.

Miscellaneous

• Mercury-Atlas 8 was called Sigma 7.
• Upper-case Σ is sometimes substituted jocularly for upper-case E to impart a "Greek" air; posters for the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding and promotional materials for the television series Greek, for instance, have "GRΣΣK" instead.
• Sigma 2,3,5,6,7,8,9 computers produced by Xerox Data Systems in the 1970s following purchase of SDS, Scientific Data Systems, by it. Successful range of scientific computers similar to IBM 370s.
• Sigma is the name of a system for ontology development and reasoning
• Project Sigma was the name of a proposal for a "spontaneous university" by the Scottish writer Alexander Trocchi.
• The French mathematician and poet Jacques Roubaud used the symbol as a title for his first book of poems, Σ, published in 1967.^[1]

See also

• Antisigma
• Sampi
• Greek letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering

References