[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

alpha \al"pha\, n. l. alpha, gr. 'a`lfa, from heb. =aleph,
   name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox.
   the first letter in the greek alphabet, answering to a, and
   hence used to denote the beginning.
   1913 webster

         in am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the
         first and the last.                      --rev. xxii.
                                                  13.
   1913 webster

   note: formerly used also denote the chief; as, plato was the
         alpha of the wits.
         1913 webster

   note: in cataloguing stars, the brightest star of a
         constellation in designated by alpha alpha; as,
         alpha lyrae.
         1913 webster

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

a \a\ named =a in the english, and most commonly aum in
   other languages.
   the first letter of the english and of many other alphabets.
   the capital a of the alphabets of middle and western europe,
   as also the small letter a, besides the forms in italic,
   black letter, etc., are all descended from the old latin a,
   which was borrowed from the greek alpha, of the same form;
   and this was made from the first letter ? of the
   phoenician alphabet, the equivalent of the hebrew aleph,
   and itself from the egyptian origin. the aleph was a
   consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not
   an element of greek articulation; and the greeks took it to
   represent their vowel alpha with the aum sound, the
   phoenician alphabet having no vowel symbols.
   1913 webster this letter, in english, is used for several
   different vowel sounds. see guide to pronunciation,
   sectsect 43-74. the regular long a, as in fate, etc., is
   a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of
   what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was a
   sound of the quality of aum as in far.
   1913 webster

   2. mus. the name of the sixth tone in the model major scale
      that in c, or the first tone of the minor scale, which
      is named after it the scale in a minor. the second string
      of the violin is tuned to the a in the treble staff. -- a
      sharp asharp is the name of a musical tone
      intermediate between a and b. -- a flat aflat is the
      name of a tone intermediate between a and g.
      1913 webster

   a per se l. per se by itself, one pre"eminent; a
      nonesuch. obs.
      1913 webster

            o fair creseide, the flower and a per se
            of troy and greece.                   --chaucer.
      1913 webster
see also:
alpha a per se 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

alpha
     adj 1: first in order of importance; "the alpha male in the group
            of chimpanzees"; "the alpha star in a constellation is
            the brightest or main star"
     2: early testing stage of a software or hardware product;
        "alpha version"
     n 1: the 1st letter of the greek alphabet
     2: the beginning of a series or sequence; "the alpha and omega,
        the first and the last, the beginning and the
        end"--revelations

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

58 moby thesaurus words for "alpha":
   a, beginning, blast-off, breaking-in, commencement, creation,
   cutting edge, dawn, dawning, edge, establishment, first,
   first blush, first glance, first impression, first inning,
   first lap, first move, first round, first sight, first stage,
   first step, flying start, foundation, fresh start, gambit, genesis,
   initial, initiative, institution, jump-off, kick-off,
   le premier pas, leading edge, new departure, oncoming, onset,
   opening, opening move, origin, origination, outbreak, outset,
   outstart, prime, primitiveness, primitivity, running start,
   send-off, setout, setting in motion, setting-up, square one, start,
   start-off, starting point, take-off, warming-up

[5] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

alpha
     
         or "input" an extension of algol 60 for the
        m-20 computer developed by a.p. ershov at novosibirsk in
        1961.  alpha includes matrix operations, slices, and
        complex arithmetic.
     
        "the alpha automatic programming system", a.p. ershov ed.,
        a-p 1971.
     
        1995-05-10
     
     
see also:
algol 60 m-20 matrix slices 

[6] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

alpha
     
        1.  a compiler generator written by andreas koschinsky
         and described in his thesis at the
        technische universitaet berlin.  alpha takes an attribute
        grammar and uses bison and flex to generate a parser, a
        scanner and an ase evaluator jazayeri and walter.
     
        the documentation is in german.
     
        1993-02-16
     
        2.  dec alpha.
     
        1995-05-10
     
     
see also:
compiler generator technische universitaet berlin attribute grammar bison flex parser 
scanner ase evaluator dec alpha 

[7] : U.S. Gazetteer (1990)

alpha, il village, fips 971
  location: 41.19217 n, 90.38082 w
  population 1990: 753 324 housing units
  area: 0.8 sq km land, 0.0 sq km water
  zip codes: 61413
alpha, ky
  zip codes: 42603
alpha, mi village, fips 1800
  location: 46.04394 n, 88.37826 w
  population 1990: 219 130 housing units
  area: 2.4 sq km land, 0.1 sq km water
alpha, mn city, fips 1162
  location: 43.63919 n, 94.87138 w
  population 1990: 105 58 housing units
  area: 0.5 sq km land, 0.0 sq km water
  zip codes: 56111
alpha, nj borough, fips 1030
  location: 40.65975 n, 75.15746 w
  population 1990: 2530 1003 housing units
  area: 4.4 sq km land, 0.1 sq km water
  zip codes: 08865

[8] : U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)

alpha, nj -- u.s. borough in new jersey
   population 2000:    2482
   housing units 2000: 1034
   land area 2000:     1.697667 sq. miles 4.396936 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.038457 sq. miles 0.099604 sq. km
   total area 2000:    1.736124 sq. miles 4.496540 sq. km
   fips code:            01030
   located within:       new jersey nj, fips 34
   location:             40.664003 n, 75.159871 w
   zip codes 1990:     08865
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    alpha, nj
    alpha

[9] : U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)

alpha, il -- u.s. village in illinois
   population 2000:    726
   housing units 2000: 318
   land area 2000:     0.321989 sq. miles 0.833947 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.000000 sq. miles 0.000000 sq. km
   total area 2000:    0.321989 sq. miles 0.833947 sq. km
   fips code:            00971
   located within:       illinois il, fips 17
   location:             41.192203 n, 90.380943 w
   zip codes 1990:     61413
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    alpha, il
    alpha

[10] : U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)

alpha, mi -- u.s. village in michigan
   population 2000:    198
   housing units 2000: 118
   land area 2000:     0.940174 sq. miles 2.435039 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.053292 sq. miles 0.138026 sq. km
   total area 2000:    0.993466 sq. miles 2.573065 sq. km
   fips code:            01800
   located within:       michigan mi, fips 26
   location:             46.044786 n, 88.378419 w
   zip codes 1990:    
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    alpha, mi
    alpha

[11] : U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)

alpha, mn -- u.s. city in minnesota
   population 2000:    126
   housing units 2000: 61
   land area 2000:     0.177101 sq. miles 0.458690 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.000000 sq. miles 0.000000 sq. km
   total area 2000:    0.177101 sq. miles 0.458690 sq. km
   fips code:            01162
   located within:       minnesota mn, fips 27
   location:             43.638242 n, 94.871621 w
   zip codes 1990:     56111
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    alpha, mn
    alpha

Alpha >> A Words
Alpha, definition of term: Alpha
alpha_pag1.html

Alpha Radiation >> A Words
Alpha Radiation, definition of term: Alpha Radiation
alpha+radiation_pag1.html

Alpha Wave >> A Words
Alpha Wave, definition of term: Alpha Wave
alpha+wave_pag1.html

Alpha Test >> A Words
Alpha Test, definition of term: Alpha Test
alpha+test_pag1.html

Alpha Particle >> A Words
Alpha Particle, definition of term: Alpha Particle
alpha+particle_pag1.html

Alpha Geek >> A Words
Alpha Geek, definition of term: Alpha Geek
alpha+geek_pag1.html

Alpha Centauri >> A Words
Alpha Centauri, definition of term: Alpha Centauri
alpha+centauri_pag1.html

Dec Alpha >> D Words
Dec Alpha, definition of term: Dec Alpha
dec+alpha_pag1.html

Alpha And Omega >> A Words
Alpha And Omega, definition of term: Alpha And Omega
alpha+and+omega_pag1.html