b

C2+ Topic:Time

US /ˈbi/ UK /ˈbiː/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the second letter of the English alphabet

Her surname began with a capital B.

Etymology

The second letter of the Latin alphabet, derived from Greek beta, itself from the Phoenician letter bet ('house').

bēta Ancient Greek

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# b

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈbi
**IPA (UK):** ˈbiː

## Meanings
1. the second letter of the English alphabet

## Examples
- Her surname began with a capital B.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bēta

## Etymology
The second letter of the Latin alphabet, derived from Greek beta, itself from the Phoenician letter bet ('house').

## AI Etymology
b has the etymological history: The second letter of the Latin alphabet, derived from Greek beta, itself from the Phoenician letter bet ('house'). The formation is best read through the historical forms named above, with the modern spelling preserving the outcome of that older derivational path. In modern use, the noun sense is "the second letter of the English alphabet", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The principal historical forms in the chain include Ancient Greek bēta, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Time

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