Greek Dictionary

Below you will find a helpful dictionary for Greek Life.  Students who have recently joined a fraternity or sorority or those interested in joining are encouraged to become familiar with the letters and terms listed below.

Greek Alphabet

Α	α	Alpha (al-fah)	Ν	ν	Nu (new)
Β	β	Beta (bay-tah)	Ξ	ξ	Xi (zzEYE)
Γ	γ	Gamma (gam-ah)	Ο	ο	Omicron (omm-e-cron)
Δ	δ	Delta (del-tah)	Π	π	Pi (pie)
Ε	ε	Epsilon (ep-si-lon)	Ρ	ρ	Rho (roe)
Ζ	ζ	Zeta (zay-tah)	Σ	ς	Sigma (sig-mah)
Η	η	Eta (ay-tah)	Τ	σ	Tau (taw)
Θ	θ	Theta (thay-tah)	Υ	τυ	Upsilon (yoop-si-lon)
Ι	ι	Iota (eye-o-tah)	Φ	φ	Phi (fie)
Κ	κ	Kappa (cap-ah)	Χ	χ	Chi (kEYE)
Λ	λ	Lambda (lamb-dah)	Ψ	ψ	Psi (sigh)
Μ	μ	Mu (mew)	Ω	ω	Omega (o-may-gah)

Greek Dictionary

• Active—A member of an organization that is initiated and enrolled in school.
• Bid—An invitation for a potential new member to join a particular organization.
• Chapter—An individual Greek organization established at a university.
• Dues – The amount of money paid to a chapter by an active each semester.
• Fraternity—A men's organization established through the bonds of brotherhood.
• Formal Recruitment – The process of fall recruitment followed by NPC sororities. 
• Greek—Another name for an organization established by the use of the Greek alphabet, or a member of such an organization.
• Hazing – A banned process at Michigan Tech for any and all student organizations and sports teams.  For more information, click here.
• Interfraternity Council (IFC) - The governing body of the men’s fraternities.
• Initiation—A ceremony in which a student becomes a full member of an organization.
• Local—An organization whose chapter is only established at one university.
• National—An organization which has chapters across the nation and has a (inter)national headquarters.
• National Panhellenic Council (NPC; Panhel) – The governing body of the four national sororities as well as four local sororities.
• New Member/Associate Member—A student who has already received a bid and is going through the pledging process, but has not yet been initiated into the organization in order to become a full member (active).
• New Member Process – The process that a new member must complete to become an active or full member of a Greek organization.  Time length varies by organization but generally lasts five to eight weeks usually concluding with a week of close chapter events.  Previously known as pledging.
• Philanthropy – The process of raising money for a specific organization or cause
• Potential New Member – A student attending recruitment events; previously known as a rushee.
• Preference—An invitation only recruitment event. A chance for a student to express an interest in receiving a bid by that organization.
• Recruiting – The process of introducing potential new members to the Greek community.
• Rush/Recruitment Event—An event which an organization sponsors to meet students.
• Silent Period – The period of time between a NPC organization handing out a bid and a student’s official answer; no NPC organization may be in contact with a potential new member at this time.
• Sorority—A women's organization established through the bonds of sisterhood.