Main Entry: ¹be·ta

Pronunciation: \ˈbā-tə, chiefly British ˈbē-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English betha, from Latin beta, from Greek bēta, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew bēth beth

Date: 14th century

1 : the 2d letter of the Greek alphabet — see alphabet table
2 : beta particle
3 : a measure of the risk potential of a stock or an investment portfolio expressed as a ratio of the stock's or portfolio's volatility to the volatility of the market as a whole
4 : a nearly complete prototype of a product (as software) <released in beta> <the beta version>