# eta

Pronunciation: say "ee-tee-AY" US /ˌi.tiˈeɪ/, UK /ˌiː.tiːˈeɪ/

## Noun · ETA

1. Initialism of estimated time of arrival. — Initialism of estimated time of arrival.
   - Simple: Short for estimated time of arrival. It means the time when someone or something is expected to arrive.
   - _Dispatch asked the ambulance crew for an updated ETA._
   - _The storm pushed the cargo ship's ETA back by two days._

## Noun

2. The seventh letter of the modern Greek alphabet, which was the eighth letter in the old Greek alphabet. (pronounced: US say "AY-tuh" /ˈeɪtə/; UK say "EE-tuh" /ˈiːtə/)
   - Simple: The seventh letter of the Greek alphabet used today. In old Greek it was the eighth letter.
   - _In the engineering paper, a lowercase eta stands for the efficiency of the motor._
   - _The professor drew an eta on the board, and half the class mistook it for an H._
4. A name, now considered derogatory in Japan, for a social outcast there who is forced into menial work, one of a whole class or caste of outcasts. (pronounced: US say "AY-tuh" /ˈeɪtə/; UK say "EE-tuh" /ˈiːtə/)
   - Simple: A name, now an insult in Japan, for a person there from a group kept apart and forced into low work.

## Verb · ETA

3. Initialism of edited to add. — Initialism of edited to add.
   - Simple: Short for edited to add. People write it online before something they added to a post later.
   - _ETA: Several readers caught a typo in my second paragraph, which I've now corrected._
   - _ETA: The seller refunded my order this morning, so I've changed my review to four stars._

## Proper noun · ETA

5. Initialism of Electronic Travel Authority (Australia). — Initialism of Electronic Travel Authority (Australia).
   - Simple: Short for Electronic Travel Authority. The name is used in Australia.
   - _Her ETA came through the day before her flight to Melbourne._
   - _Check that your ETA is still valid before you book a flight to Perth._

## Other meanings

- (proper noun) Acronym of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna.
- (noun) A type of meson that carries no electric charge and has zero spin and zero isospin.
- (noun) Initialism of Elvis tribute artist.
- (noun) Alternative form of ita, a kind of palm tree.

## Origin

**Meaning 2** — Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἦτα (êta).
**Meaning 4** — From Japanese 穢多, literally "full of filth"; the term is now considered derogatory in Japan.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/eta (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).