What's the meaning of the psi »

psi

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

Rate this symbol:4.0 / 2 votes

Psi is the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 700. In both Classical and Modern Greek, the letter indicates the combination /ps/ (as in English word "lapse")

For Greek loanwords in Latin and modern languages with Latin alphabets, psi is usually transliterated as "ps". In English, the letter is pronounced /ˈsaɪ/ or sometimes /ˈpsaɪ/. (In Greek, it is pronounced [ˈpsiː].)

The letter's origin is uncertain. It may or may not derive from the Phoenician alphabet. It appears in the 7th century BC, expressing /ps/ in the Eastern alphabets, but /kʰ/ in the Western alphabets (the sound expressed by Χ in the Eastern alphabets). In writing, the early letter appears in an angular shape (Greek Psi straight.svg). There were early graphical variants that omitted the stem ("Chickenfoot-shaped psi" as :Greek Psi V-shaped.svg or Greek Chi 05.svg).

The Western letter (expressing /kʰ/, later /x/) was adopted into the Old Italic alphabets, and its shape is also continued into the Algiz rune of the Elder Futhark. The classical Greek letter was adopted into the early Cyrillic alphabet as "Ѱ".

The letter psi is commonly used in physics to represent wave functions in quantum mechanics, such as in the Schr

4,315 Views

Graphical characteristics:
Symmetric, Open shape, Monochrome, Contains both straight and curved lines, Has crossing lines.

Category: Greek Symbols.

psi is part of the Alphabets group.

More symbols in Alphabets:

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

More symbols in Greek Symbols:

Greek alphabet letters and symbols are used as math and science symbols. read more »

Have a discussion about psi with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this symbol to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "psi." Symbols.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.symbols.com/symbol/psi>.

    We need you!

    Are we missing an important symbol in this category?

    Graphical Index

    Use our unique search feature to find a symbol based on its various graphical characteristics:


    • Symmetry:
    • Shape:
    • Colors:
    • Curveness:
    • Crossing:

    Quiz

    Are you a world flags master?

    »
    A Oman
    B Belgium
    C Burundi
    D Tanzania

    Browse Symbols.com