Omega

Omega (capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Greek Ωμέγα) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" (ō mega, mega meaning 'great'), as opposed to omicron, which means "little O" (o mikron, micron meaning "little"). This name is Byzantine; in Classical Greek, the letter was called ō (ὦ), whereas the omicron was called ou (οὖ). The form of the uppercase letter derives from that of an omicron (Ο) broken up at the side, with the edges subsequently turned outwards (, ). The modern lowercase shape goes back to the uncial form, a form that developed during the 3rd century BC in ancient handwriting on papyrus, from a flattened-out form of the letter that had its edges curved even further upwards.