omicra

See also: Omicra

English

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ὂ μικρά (ò mikrá), plural construction of ὂ μικρόν (ò mikrón).

Noun

omicra pl

1. plural of omicron; Alternative form of omicrons
   • 1910, R. J. Walker, ΑΝΤΙ ΜΙΑΣ: An Essay in Isometry (Macmillan and co., limited), volume 1, page 91

     It must be remembered that we are dealing with uncials. ΒΟΟ could not very well become ΒΟΥ. But in the pre-Euclidean alphabet the impure diphthong resulting from the contraction of two omicra, as distinguished from the pure diphthong with a real u-element, was written Ο.

   • 1955, Radio Society of Great Britain and Wireless Society of London, Wireless World (The Wireless Press), volume 61, page 94

     Perhaps the announcers think that two omicra make one omega, for, of course, unlike the other words I have quoted, “polio” does have two omicra in it.

   • 1960, Walter Bruno Henning, “The Bactrian Inscription”, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, volume 23, page 49:

     Yet are we wise to transcribe ypsilon as h in all cases? The study of the coins has shown long ago that ypsilon was used for h, and it is true that it is so used in the inscription. Nevertheless, in cases where there would otherwise be a heaping of omicra, it may perhaps serve as ṷ. For example, λρονο 4, 14/5, surely = lruṷᵒ from Old Ir. druwa-,³ which otherwise might have been spelt λροοο…
     ³ Not recognized by M. Maricq.

   • 1966, Friedrich Hirth, editor, Asia Major, Princeton University Press, volume 12?, page 99:

     The fact that in M all omicra are round, while in A most of them are square, should neither blind us to the basic affinity of hand of the two versions, nor raise false hopes that individual hands may be identifiable either. For the few round omicra of A are so distributed (see Göbl’s plate X) that it would be absurd to attribute every change of o-shape to a change of stone-cutter.

   • 1994, Bulletin of the Asia Institute, volume 7, Wayne State University Press, page 178:

     The two omicra are separated by a vertical line of unknown significance.

Anagrams

• Moriac, Romaic, moraic