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Lambda

This page is about the meaning, origin and characteristic of the symbol, emblem, seal, sign, logo or flag: Lambda.

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Lambda is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is related to the Phoenician letter Lamed Lamedh. Letters in other alphabets that stemmed from lambda include the Latin L and the Cyrillic letter El (Л, л). The ancient grammarians and dramatists give evidence to the pronunciation as [laːbdaː] (λάβδα) in Classical Greek times. In Modern Greek the name of the letter, Λάμδα, is pronounced [lamða]; the spoken letter itself has the sound of "l" as with Latinate "L".

In early Greek alphabets, the shape and orientation of lambda varied. Most variants consisted of two straight strokes, one longer than the other, connected at their ends. The angle might be in the upper-left, lower-left ("Western" alphabets), or top ("Eastern" alphabets). Other variants had a vertical line with a horizontal or sloped stroke running to the right. With the general adoption of the Ionic alphabet, Greek settled on an angle at the top; the Romans put the angle at the lower-left.

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Graphical characteristics:
Asymmetric, Open shape, Monochrome, Contains curved lines, Has no crossing lines.

Category: Alphabets.

Lambda is part of the Greek alphabet group.

More symbols in Greek alphabet:

The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the first alphabetic script to have distinct letter… read more »

More symbols in Alphabets:

An alphabet is a standard set of letters (basic written symbols or graphemes) that is used to write one or more languages based on the general principle that the letters represent phonemes (basic sig… read more »

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