ScienceAugust 13, 2026

zeta

ZAY-tuh

Definition

The sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, which represents a specific mathematical function in number theory, the Riemann zeta function.

Etymology

The word is derived from the Greek letter 'zeta' (ζ), which was adopted from the Phoenician letter 'zayin', meaning 'weapon' or 'sword'.

In the news

In the article, the term is used to identify the 'Riemann zeta function,' a complex mathematical tool central to the Riemann hypothesis.

Anthropic's Claude tried to solve the Riemann hypothesis and found something new instead

Read the full article ↗

TechSpot

Related words

Learn a word like this every day

Meet one new word every morning.

Newspoken pulls one carefully chosen word from the day’s news — with a clear definition, context, and light review that makes it stick. Get it on your phone.