noun · 2 syllables · /'sɪɡ.mə/

SIGMA

What does "SIGMA" mean?

The eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, written Σ or σ.

Meanings

The Greek letter Σ (uppercase) or σ (lowercase), corresponding to the English 's'. The summation symbol in math is a capital sigma.
In statistics, the symbol for standard deviation, a measure of how spread out values are. A result three sigma from the mean is statistically very unusual. technical
In internet slang, a person seen as independent and self-reliant rather than a follower. Online, the so-called sigma archetype is the lone wolf who plays by his own rules. informal

Did you know?

Greek has two lowercase sigmas: a normal 'σ' for the middle of a word and a special 'ς' used only at the very end - so the same letter changes shape depending on where it sits.
The 'Six Sigma' standard means a process so reliable it allows only about 3.4 defects per million chances - sigma here is the Greek letter for statistical spread.

Word origin

From Greek 'sigma', the name of the letter, ultimately derived from the Phoenician letter 'shin'; the lowercase form has a special variant, 'ς' (final sigma), used at the end of words.

Remember it

SIGMA looks like SIGN + MA - the math SIGN (Σ) that says 'sum it all up'.

A little poem

One little letter, summoned to the page,
and every number bows and falls in line-
Σ: the whole crowd gathered into one.

tercet

Wordplay

Why is sigma never lonely at the end of a Greek word? It gets a whole different shape just to be there.

What it teaches

One small symbol can stand for an entire sum - notation is how we make the vast portable.

Quick facts

What does SIGMA mean?

The eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, written Σ or σ.

Is SIGMA a valid word?

Yes — SIGMA is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is SIGMA?

SIGMA has 5 letters and 2 syllables.

Where does SIGMA come from?

From Greek 'sigma', the name of the letter, ultimately derived from the Phoenician letter 'shin'; the lowercase form has a special variant, 'ς' (final sigma), used at the end of words.

What can SIGMA teach us?