Where does “алфа” come from?

алфа (Serbo-Croatian) comes from Ancient Greek ἄλφα, from Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤐, from Proto-Semitic *ʔalp- — thousand.

алфа (Serbo-Croatian): alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Definitions

  1. alpha; the Greek letter Α, α

Ancestry of “алфа”, step by step

алфа traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Ancient Greek ἄλφα

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekἄλφαalpha, the name for the first letter Α, α of the...
2Phoenician𐤀𐤋𐤐thousand; bull, ox, head of cattle
3Proto-Semitic*ʔalp-thousand

via Greek ἄλφα

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Greekἄλφαalpha, the name for the first letter of the modern Greek alphabet

via Russian а́льфа

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianа́льфаalpha
Every word from Proto-Semitic *ʔalp- →Every word from Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤐 →Every word from Ancient Greek ἄλφα →