Sigma

Sigma (uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; Greek: σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word (when the word is not all caps), the final form (ς) is used, e.g. Ὀδυσσεύς (Odysseus); note the two sigmas in the center of the name, and the word-final sigma at the end. Sigma (uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; Greek: σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word (when the word is not all caps), the final form (ς) is used, e.g. Ὀδυσσεύς (Odysseus); note the two sigmas in the center of the name, and the word-final sigma at the end. The shape and alphabetic position of sigma is derived from Phoenician shin ? . The original name of the letter 'sigma' may have been san, but due to the complicated early history of the Greek epichoric alphabets, 'san' came to be identified as a separate letter, Ϻ.Herodotus reports that 'san' was the name given by the Dorians to the same letter called 'sigma' by the Ionians. The name of sigma, according to one hypothesis, may continue that of Phoenician Samekh, the letter continued by Greek Ξ.Alternatively, the name sigma may have been a Greek innovation that simply meant 'hissing', from the root of σίζω (sízō, earlier *sig-jō, meaning 'I hiss'). In handwritten Greek during the Hellenistic period (4th and 3rd centuries BC), the epigraphic form of Σ was simplified into a C-like shape. It is also found on coins from the fourth century BC onward. This became the universal standard form of sigma during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is today known as lunate sigma (uppercase Ϲ, lowercase ϲ), because of its crescent-like shape.