alpha noun [IN AERODYNAMICS] it is used as a symbol for the angle of attack of an aircraft | [IN ASTRONOMY] as an adjective, it designates some bright star, usually the brightest star, of a constellation | [IN COMPUTER GRAPHICS] (a) Ellipsis of alpha layer (b) The level of translucency of a colour, as determined by the alpha channel | [IN COMPUTING] A RISC CPU instruction set architecture developed and marketed by Digital Equipment Corporation | [IN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY] as between the second and third crystallographic axes | [IN ELECTRIC ENGINEERING AND ELECTRONICS] transistor amplification in base circuit | [IN ETHOLOGY] is used to name the dominant individual in a group of animals | [IN FANDOM SLANG] In omegaverse fiction, a person of a dominant secondary sex driven by biology, magic, or other means to bond with an omega, with males of this type often having canine-like genitalia | [IN FINANCE] The return of a given asset or portfolio adjusted for systematic risk | [IN GEMMOLOGY] in the case of zircon, a mark for an intact structure | [GENERAL] (a) The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta (b) as an adjective, it designates the first in an order of precedence (c) (informal) as an abbreviation for alphabet | [IN MATHEMATICAL LOGIC] is sometimes used as a placeholder for ordinal numbers | [IN MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS] is used to denote the area underneath a normal curve to denote significance level when proving null and alternative hypotheses | [IN MATHEMATICS IN ALGEBRAIC SOLUTIONS] it represents quantities such as angles | [IN MINERALOGY] a designation for low-temperature modification | [PERSON, OBJECT OR ACTION] Exhibiting characteristics of the alpha male/female archetype | [IN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY] stands for thermal expansion coefficient of a compound | [IN PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY] represents various concepts, including alpha radiation, angular acceleration, alpha particles, alpha carbon and strength of electromagnetic interaction (as fine-structure constant) | [IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING] The first versions of a program, usually only available to the developer, and only tested by the developer | [IN STATISTICS] The significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level
alfa