Etymology

iota

I1O1T1A1

Today it means: The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι). Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἰῶτα ← Proto-Semitic *yad-
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iota · noun1

  1. Proto-Semitic · derived from*yad-“hand”
  2. Ancient Greek · borrowed fromἰῶτα
  3. English todayiota

From Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *yad- (“hand”). Doublet of jot and yodh. Sense “jot, small quantity” in reference to a phrase in the New Testament: ”one iote or one title, shall in no wise passe from the law”, iota being the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.

IOTA · noun2

Acronym of interest on trust account.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekἰῶτα all →

jotiotationjot and tittle

Proto-Semitic*yad- all →

yodh

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.