noun
- the third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ).
- the consonant sound represented by this letter.
- the third in a series of items.
- (initial capital letter) Astronomy. a star that is usually the third brightest of a constellation: The third brightest star in the Southern Cross is Gamma Crucis.
- a unit of weight equal to one microgram.
- Physics. a unit of magnetic field strength, equal to 10−5 gauss.
- Photography. a measure of the degree of development of a negative or print.
- Television. an analogous numerical indication of the degree of contrast between light and dark in the reproduction of an image in television.
- Chiefly British. a grade showing that an individual student is in the third, or lowest, of three scholastic sections in a class.Compare alpha(def 7), beta(def 8).
noun
- the third letter in the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ), a consonant, transliterated as g. When double, it is transcribed and pronounced as ng
- the third highest grade or mark, as in an examination
- a unit of magnetic field strength equal to 10 –5 oersted. 1 gamma is equivalent to 0.795 775 × 10 –3 ampere per metre
- photog television the numerical value of the slope of the characteristic curve of a photographic emulsion or television camera; a measure of the contrast reproduced in a photographic or television image
- (modifier)
- involving or relating to photons of very high energya gamma detector
- relating to one of two or more allotropes or crystal structures of a solidgamma iron
- relating to one of two or more isomeric forms of a chemical compound, esp one in which a group is attached to the carbon atom next but one to the atom to which the principal group is attached
noun
- (foll by the genitive case of a specified constellation) the third brightest star in a constellationGamma Leonis
third letter of the Greek alphabet, c.1400, from Greek gamma, from Phoenician gimel, literally “camel” (see camel); so called for a fancied resemblance of its shape to some part of a camel. Gamma rays (1903) originally were thought to be a third type of radiation, now known to be identical with very short X-rays.
n.
- The third letter of the Greek alphabet.
- The third item in a series or system of classification.
- The third position from a designated carbon atom in an organic molecule at which an atom or a radical may be substituted.
- A unit of magnetic field strength equal to one hundred thousandth (105) of an oersted.
- A unit of mass equal to one millionth (106) of a gram.
adj.
- Relating to or being the atom or radical group that is in the third position relative to the functional group of atoms in an organic molecule.
- Relating to or characterizing a polypeptide chain that is one of five types of heavy chains that may be present in immunoglobins.