alfa

alfa

2. Alternative letter-case form of Alfa of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet.

alfa

2. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Alfa from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
4. (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).

From Fula alfaa. Compare Yoruba àlùfáà.

alfa (plural alfas)

1. (Islam) A West African cleric or religious teacher.

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

alfa f (plural alfes)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈal.fə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈal.fa]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

alfa f (plural alfes)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

• “alfa”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. First attested in the 14th century.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈalfa]

alfa n or f

1. alpha

when feminine:

Indeclinable when neuter.

• alpha (superseded)

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. Doublet of alef.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑl.faː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: al‧fa

alfa f (plural alfa's, diminutive alfaatje n)

1. the letter alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet)
2. Historically used in educational contexts to denote a humanistic orientation.

   Antonym: bèta

3. someone who is educated in the humanities or otherwise prefers such subjects

   Antonym: bèta

4. (ethology) a dominant animal

• alfa on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Greek letter

Αα	Previous:	n/a
	Next:	beeta

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑlf(ː)ɑ/, [ˈɑ̝lf(ː)ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑlfɑ
• Syllabification^(key): al‧fa
• Hyphenation^(key): al‧fa

alfa

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α
2. alpha (person, especially a male, who is dominant, successful and attractive)

• “alfa”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

From Arabic حَلْفَاء (ḥalfāʔ).

• IPA^(key): /al.fa/

• Audio (France (Paris)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Homophone: alpha

alfa m (plural alfas)

1. esparto

• alfatier

• “alfa”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• IPA^(key): [ˈalfɐ]

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

alfa m (plural alfas)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Unknown origin. Possibly related to Latin ārefacere through Galician alfar. Or Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós.

alfa f (plural alfas)

1. hot air expelled from an oven
2. excessively hot air or wind
3. blaze of the sun
4. flame

   Synonyms: chama, lapa, laparada

• alfada

alfa

1. inflection of alfar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “alfa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “alfa”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “alfa”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒlfɒ]
• Rhymes: -fɒ
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

alfa (plural alfák)

1. alpha (the name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet)
2. (astronomy) alpha (the brightest star of a constellation)
3. alpha (the first, semi-awake stage of sleep, accompanied by slow EEG waves)
4. alpha (the first in an order of precedence)

   Synonyms: kezdet, alap

• alfa in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• alfa in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

alfa f (genitive singular ölfu, nominative plural ölfur) or
alfa n (genitive singular alfa, nominative plural ölfu)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. Doublet of alif.

• IPA^(key): (standard) /ˈal.fa/, (dialectal) /ˈal.pa/
• Rhymes: -fa, -a
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

alfa (plural alfa-alfa)

1. alpha:
   1. 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
   2. first, see alpha and omega

      Synonyms: pertama, permulaan

   3. (astronomy) Alpha, the brightest star in a constellation according to the Bayer designation
   4. (electronics) common-base current gain of a transistor in electronics
   5. (statistics) the significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level

• “alfa”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

alfa m (genitive singular alfa)

1. alpha (Greek letter)

From Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā).

alfa m (genitive singular alfa)

1. esparto, halfa

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “alfa”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “alfa”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “alfa”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.fa/^[1]
• Rhymes: -alfa
• Hyphenation: àl‧fa

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

alfa m or f (invariable)

1. alpha, specifically:
   1. the name of the Greek-script letter Α/α
   2. The name of the Latin script letter Ɑ/ɑ.; Latin alpha

Borrowed from Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā).

alfa f (plural alfe)

1. a grass, Stipa tenacissima; esparto, halfa

• sparto

• fala

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha) (sense 1), and Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā) (sense 2).

alfa m (definite singular alfaen, indefinite plural alfaer, definite plural alfaene)

1. alpha, first letter of the Greek alphabet.
2. esparto grass, Stipa tenacissima

• (sense 2) alfagress

• alfastråling

• “alfa” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “alfa_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “alfa_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha) (sense 1), and Arabic حَلْفَا (ḥalfā) (sense 2).

alfa m (definite singular alfaen, indefinite plural alfaer or alfaar, definite plural alfaene or alfaane)

1. alpha, first letter of the Greek alphabet.
2. esparto grass, Stipa tenacissima

• (sense 2) alfagras

• alfastråling

• “alfa” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

alfa

1. accusative/genitive plural of alfr

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha),^[1] from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ /⁠ʾālep⁠/). First attested in 1533.^[2]

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.fa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alfa
• Syllabification: al‧fa

alfa f (indeclinable)

1. alpha (Greek letter Α, α)

   umieć alfę z betą (Middle Polish) ― to be educated

Or indeclinable.

• “alfa”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “alfa”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)
• 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

• alpha (pre-standardization spelling)

Learned borrowing from Latin alpha, from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin. Doublet of alef.

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -alfɐ, (Brazil) -awfɐ
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

alfa m (plural alfas)

1. alpha (the name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α,  α), followed by beta)
2. (poetic) the beginning; the origin of something

   Synonyms: princípio, origem, começo

   Antonyms: ómega, ômega

• “alfa”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “alfa”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “alfa”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “alfa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “alfa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha).

alfa m (uncountable)

1. alpha

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

• IPA^(key): /âlfa/
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

ȁlfa f (Cyrillic spelling а̏лфа)

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

• IPA^(key): /ˈalfa/ [ˈal.fa]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alfa
• Syllabification: al‧fa

alfa f (plural alfas)

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Alfa always takes the usual feminine articles la and una (la alfa, una alfa). This makes it an exception to the rule according to which feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ frequently take the articles el and un otherwise reserved for masculine nouns (e.g., el alma, un alma).

• “alfa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), of Semitic origin.

alfa n

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

• “alfa”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

• fala

From Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha).

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.fa/
• Hyphenation: al‧fa

alfa (definite accusative alfayı, plural alfalar)

1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

• “alfa”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “alfa”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “alfa”, in Nişanyan Sözlük