
delta (dèl´te) noun
1. The fourth letter of the Greek
alphabet.
2. An object shaped like a triangle.
3. a. A usually triangular alluvial
deposit at the mouth of a river. b. A similar deposit at the mouth of a tidal
inlet, caused by tidal currents.
4. Mathematics. A finite increment
in a variable.
[Middle English, from Latin, from
Greek; akin to Hebrew delet, door, from Phoenician dalt.]
- delta´ic (-tâ´îk)
or del´tic (-tîk) adjective
Word History: A D sits at the mouth
of many rivers. The Greeks, noticing the resemblance between the island formed
by sediment at the mouth of a river such as the Nile in
Egypt
and the triangular shape of their letter delta, gave the name delta to such
an island. English borrowed this sense from Greek, although the word delta appeared
first in English as the name of the letter, in a work written possibly around
1200. The sense "alluvial deposit" is not recorded until 1555, when delta is
used with reference to the Nile River delta.
Brain States:
The Delta level
frequency
is normally associated with a deep
dreamless
sleep,
trance
state, and non-REM type of sleep. 1.00 Hz- Feeling of well-being; pituitary
stimulation to release growth hormone; overall view of inter-relationships.
DELTA
A standard three phase connection with the ends of each phase winding connection
in
series to form a closed
loop
with each phase 120 electrical degrees from the other.
DELTA-DELTA
The connection between a delta source and a delta load.
DELTA-WYE
The connection between a delta source and a wye load.
- from glossary of
electrical
terms
604
entity The Delta
Members: Marcus C. Maichel (Fools & Tools,
Noosphere),
Nils Paschen (Noosphere), Eberhard Schulz (Noosphere)

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604 release Delta Aquarids_ by
Total
Eclipse on
Blue
Room Released (1995)
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Transportation, 1929
Delta Air Lines begins passenger service June 17 under the name Delta Air Service with three six-passenger Travelaire monoplanes powered by 300-horsepower Wright "Whirlwind" engines flying at 90 miles per hour between Dallas and Jackson, Miss., via Shreveport and Monroe, La. Delta was organized late last year under the leadership of former agricultural extension service county agent C. E. Woolman, 39, who pioneered in using airplanes to dust cotton crops with arsenate of lead and calcium arsenate in order to protect them from boll weevil damage.
delta ray
delta ray (dèl´te
rA) noun
An electron ejected from
matter by ionizing radiation.
delta wave
delta wave (dèl´te wAv) noun
A slow brain wave, having a frequency of fewer
than six cycles per second, that emanates from the forward portion of the
brain and is associated with deep sleep in normal adults. Also called delta
rhythm.
deltoid
deltoid (dèl´toid´)
noun
A thick, triangular muscle
covering the shoulder joint, used to raise the arm from the side.
adjective
1. Triangular.
2. Of or relating to the
deltoid.
[New Latin deltoidês, from Greek deltoeidês, triangular : delta, delta. See delta + -oeidês, -oid.]
delta n.
1. [techspeak] A quantitative change, especially a small or incremental one (this use is general in physics and engineering). "I just doubled the speed of my program!" "What was the delta on program size?" "About 30 percent." (He doubled the speed of his program, but increased its size by only 30 percent.) 2. [Unix] A diff, especially a diff stored under the set of version-control tools called SCCS (Source Code Control System) or RCS (Revision Control System). 3. n. A small quantity, but not as small as epsilon. The jargon usage of delta and epsilon stems from the traditional use of these letters in mathematics for very small numerical quantities, particularly in `epsilon-delta' proofs in limit theory (as in the differential calculus). The term delta is often used, once epsilon has been mentioned, to mean a quantity that is slightly bigger than epsilon but still very small. "The cost isn't epsilon, but it's delta" means that the cost isn't totally negligible, but it is nevertheless very small. Common constructions include `within delta of --', `within epsilon of --': that is, `close to' and `even closer to'.
- _The New
Hacker's
Dictionary_
by
Eric
S. Raymond
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