Alpha
Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α; Greek: Άλφα Álpha) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 1. It was derived from the Phoenician letter aleph Aleph. Letters that arose from alpha include the Latin A and the Cyrillic letter А.
In English, the noun "alpha" is used as a synonym for "beginning", or "first" (in a series), reflecting its Greek roots.
Alpha was derived from aleph, which in Phoenician means "ox".
According to Plutarch's natural order of attribution of the vowels to the planets, alpha was connected with the Moon.
Alpha, both as a symbol and term, is used to refer to or describe a variety of things, including the first or most significant occurrence of something. The New Testament has God declaring himself to be the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13, KJV, and see also 1:8).
The term "alpha" has been used to denote position in social hierarchy, examples being "alpha males" or pack leaders.
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