The Etymology of the Alphabet asks, letter by letter, where each name comes from. Alpha is from ἄλφω “I find,” or from Aleph “learn,” or from a Gerasene phrase “take and eat,” because knowledge of letters is food; that is why alpha stands first. Beta is from βῶ “I walk,” or from a Dorian word for a vessel that draws the water of knowledge. Gamma is the sweetening of letters; delta is the fourth heaven; eta is ēthos; theta is Thoth’s priestly leaf.
Iota is yod, the completion of the mind; kappa is the aether’s fire; lambda the chasm between heaven and earth; mu heavenly food; nu bread; xi the swordfish-star; omicron the circular heaven; omega is o doubled to fill the twenty-four hours of the nychthemeron.
The slot is that letter-by-letter school etymology, the sort that fed the later etymologica.
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