NOUN (2)

1. the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet;

2. the beginning of a series or sequence;
- Example: "the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end"--Revelations


ADJECTIVE (2)

1. first in order of importance;
- Example: "the alpha male in the group of chimpanzees"
- Example: "the alpha star in a constellation is the brightest or main star"

2. early testing stage of a software or hardware product;
- Example: "alpha version"

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Alpha \Al"pha\, n. [L. alpha, Gr. 'a`lfa, from Heb. [=a]leph,
   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] Lyr[ae].
         [1913 Webster]

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
   Ph[oe]nician 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
   Ph[oe]nician alphabet having no vowel symbols.
   [1913 Webster] This letter, in English, is used for several
   different vowel sounds. See Guide to pronunciation,
   [sect][sect] 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 (A[sharp]) is the name of a musical tone
      intermediate between A and B. -- A flat (A[flat]) is the
      name of a tone intermediate between A and G.
      [1913 Webster]

   A per se (L. per se by itself), one pre["e]minent; a
      nonesuch. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            O fair Creseide, the flower and A per se
            Of Troy and Greece.                   --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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

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



The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

ALPHA
Input

    (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)


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

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)


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


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


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


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