Greek Alphabet and 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.