upsila

U1P3S1I1L1A1

A form of upsilon — The twentieth letter of Classical and Modern Greek; the twenty-second letter of Old and Ancient Greek.

OriginAncient Greek ὖ ψιλά →
Scrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounupsila pl
  1. pluralplural of upsilon

    Inconsistent letter forms: e.g. upsila in 1.2; kappas in 1.7; long rho in πρωτον vs. short rho in ημετερα; epsila in επελθω.

    1994, Adam Bülow-Jacobsen [ed.], Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Papyrologists, Copenhagen, 23–29 August, 1992 (Museum Tusculanum Press), page 286
    3 more examples

    Why there is no parallel ḫi- remains a mystery. It is idle to argue for some kind of parasitic origin, comparable to the rampage of spiritus asper over initial upsila in Attic Greek; the very contrast ḫu- : w- is distinctive.

    1981, Jaan Puhvel, Analecta Indoeuropaea: Delectus Operum Minorum Plerumque Anglice Aliquando Francogallice Editorum Annos 1952–1977 Complectens, Institut für Sprachwissenschaft der Universität Innsbruck, →ISBN, page 134, →ISBN

    Gk. ῦει ‘to rain’ may represent either *sE₂uH₂-ye- or *E₂uH₂-ye- (spiritus asper being automatic on initial upsila), thus a -ye/o- derivative (stative like e. g. χαίρω?) from the zero grade of the root stem seen in Toch. A 3 pl. swiñc < *sE₂uH₂-énti.

    1991, Jaan Puhvel, Hittite Etymological Dictionary: Words beginning with H (Walter de Gruyter), pages 303–304

    Serifs are a regular feature of letters in both the Getty and the PFayum 4 papyrus fragments. Upsila, similarly formed in all, are decorated with serifs on the base of the vertical stroke at PFayum 4.11, Getty recto line 1, and Getty verso line 7.

    1993, Studia Varia from the J. Paul Getty Museum, →ISBN, page 96, →ISBN

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekὖ ψιλά
  2. Englishupsila

From the Ancient Greek ὖ ψιλά (û psilá), plural construction of ὖ ψιλόν (û psilón).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

upsila. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upsila

MLA

“upsila.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upsila. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “upsila,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upsila.

Source: upsila on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.