beta

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bêta). Doublet of beth.

noun

1. The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.
2. (education, rare) An academic grade better than a gamma and worse than an alpha.
   But let me tell you happy extroverts that only Vera Telfer and H. A. C. Evans got even an alpha minus; only T. E. Hendrie got a beta plus […] 1957, R. Avery, “This Week’s Competition”, in Time & Tide, volume 38, number 1, page 184
   Mr Taylor would hardly give a beta minus to one of his history students […] 1964, Randolph Churchill, The Fight for the Tory Leadership: A Contemporary Chronicle, page 49
   The English class was for me delightful. My essays, still written under the influence of Kubla Khan, nearly always got a beta plus. 1979, Angus MacVicar, Silver in My Sporran: Confessions of a Writing Man, page 76
3. (finance) Average sensitivity of a security's price to overall securities market prices.
4. (computing, video games)
   1. (uncountable) The phase of development after alpha testing and before launch, in which software, while not complete, has been released to potential users for testing.
      The company is offering a public beta program to test the software.
   2. (countable) Software in such a phase; a preliminary version.
      He quickly deduced our goal—ship a quality beta—but he also quickly discerned that we had no idea about the quality of the product because of our pile of untriaged bugs. 2007, Michael Lopp, Managing Humans, page 107
      Before Evolve had even seen its first beta, the game's publisher dipped its toe into presenting it as an eSport. Feb 14 2015, Steven Strom, “Evolve Review: Middle of the food chain”, in Ars Technica
   3. (proscribed, uncountable) Any kind of content from early development that was not used in the final product.
      beta levels, beta characters, beta items in a video game
5. (climbing) Information about a route which may aid someone in climbing it.
6. (physics) A beta particle or beta ray.
7. (aviation) Sideslip angle.
8. (aviation) The range of engine power settings in which the blade pitch angle of a constant-speed propeller is controlled directly by the angle of the engine's throttle lever (rather than varying with engine torque and airspeed to maintain a constant propeller RPM), allowing the propeller to be disked to generate high drag and slow the aircraft quickly.
9. Alternative spelling of betta (“fish in the genus Betta”)
10. (slang, manosphere, masculism) Ellipsis of beta male, a man who is less competent or desirable than an alpha male.
    “I guess in your psychological language of alpha males and beta males, I would be firmly in the camp that prefers the more laid-back betas,” she took a deep breath, “like your father.” 2006, Catherine Mann, Blaze of Glory, Harlequin, published 2006
    “They want sexy, virile alpha males, yes? But that doesn't come with sensitive and loyal and all of that. That's a beta. A frickin' collie, Lola. […] 2010, L. A. Banks, “Dog Tired (of the Drama!)”, in Kevin J. Anderson, editor, Blood Lite II: Overbite, Gallery Books, page 121
    She'd always had a thing for alpha males. Not that she had any intention of being bossed around, even if one had her best interests at heart. Her fascination with alphas was that they were a challenge. Betas didn't hold much of an appeal. 2010, Terry Spear, Wolf Fever, Sourcebooks Casablanca, published 2010, page 24
    When they ride the cock carousel in preference to the responsible betas that they find so boring, well, we guess that they pay. 2015, Stephen Jarosek, Tyrants of Matriarchy
    News of Harper-Mercer's murder spree, which killed ten, prompted speculation on neoreactionary forums that the long-awaited “beta uprising” of virginal shut-ins had begun. Not quite. But in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, a large audience of Americans finally saw the real beta uprising in the violent Nazi rally that shut the city down 2018, Corey Pein, Live Work Work Work Die
11. (fandom slang) In omegaverse fiction, a person of a secondary sex similar to normal humans, lacking the biological drives of alphas and omegas but generally capable of bonding and mating with either.
    Many A/B/O stories posit societies where biological imperatives divide people based on wolf pack hierarchies into sexual dominants (alphas), sexual submissives (omegas), and everyone else (betas). 2013, Kristina Busse, “Pon Farr, Mpreg, Bonds, and the Rise of the Omegaverse”, in Anne Jamison, editor, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World, page 317
    In ASD, the beta also functions as a contrast, as Yuri is assumed to be a beta before his first heat reveals his omega status. 2017, Marianne Gunderson, "What is an omega? Rewriting sex and gender in omegaverse fanfiction", thesis submitted to the University of Oslo, page 99
    Betas are usually second in command to the reigning alpha, and omegas belong to the lowest caste of the social hierarchy. 2018, Laura Campillo Arnaiz, “When the Omega Empath Met the Alpha Doctor: An Analysis of Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics in the Hannibal Fandom”, in Ashton Spacey, editor, The Darker Side of Slash Fan Fiction, page 119

adj

1. Identifying a molecular position in an organic chemical compound.
2. Designates the second in an order of precedence.
3. (computing) Preliminary; prerelease. Refers to an incomplete version of a product released for initial testing.
4. (of a person, object or action) Associated with the beta male/female archetype.

verb

1. (computing) To preliminarily release computer software for initial testing prior to final release.
2. (chiefly Internet) To beta-read a text.
   1999, sqira a., in alt.tv.x-files.creative http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.x-files.creative/msg/29d32d27e61755f2?dmode=source My thanks to Heather; who read it and betaed it. Thank you.
   2000, Elizabeth Durack, quoted in Angelina I. Karpovich, “The Audience as Editor: The Role of Beta Readers in Online Fan Fiction Communities” (essay), in Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse (editors), Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, McFarland (2006), →ISBN, page 180, Beta’ing is time-consuming, so asking a lot of people to give you a detailed analysis isn’t the most polite thing to do.
   2002, Jane Davitt, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative/msg/9301606b391212c0?dmode=source The next part is written and beta'd (thanks, Jen!), ready to go but <shuffles feet> I haven't even started what should be the final part yet.
   2002, Karmen Ghia, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated http://groups.google.com/group/alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated/msg/8405f53e8acbb0c1?dmode=source I had the honor of betaing this story and as I was doing the first read through I had the odd, but lovely, experience when a story suspends the reader in its own rhythm and flow, its own reality.