iota

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an extremely small amount; the slightest degree

   The witness did not change her account by a single iota.

2. 2
   noun

   the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, written I or i

   The symbol in the formula is the lowercase Greek letter iota.

From Greek iota, the name of the ninth Greek letter, ultimately related to the Semitic letter yod. The figurative sense 'a minute amount' arose because iota was regarded as the smallest Greek letter, reinforced by the biblical phrase 'one iota.'

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