beta

Beta is the Semitic word for 'house' — the second letter was once a little floor plan — and it has meant 'second in line' ever since. The same letter name lives on as Hebrew bet and Arabic bāʾ; Greek beta gave physics its beta rays and American tech its beta versions.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From Proto-Semitic to Ugaritic

From Phoenician to Mishnaic Hebrew

From Ancient Greek to Modern Greek

From Phoenician to Syriac, Arabic, Persian

From Mishnaic Hebrew to Yiddish

From Mishnaic Hebrew to Modern Hebrew

From Ancient Greek to Russian

From English to American English

From English to Japanese

3000 BCEProto-Semitic

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

Trade, money & letters