Always politically correct, the World Health Organization (WHO) skipped over Xi (Ξ) and went on to pick Omicron (Ο) when naming the latest COVID variant. (See the Greek Alphabet table below.)
Speaking of which, how do we Americans pronounce Omicron? Everyone sounds the same on the "micron" part. Only when it comes to the "O" do we differ. Some say "O" like "Oh." Others prefer "O" as in "hot." The "hot" way of pronunciation wins.*
Coincidentally, Omicron -- meaning little -- is really smoking hot, as the slang goes. Figuratively, it is burning through the facades put up by politicians here (USA) and there (China), who bragged about beating back the virulent COVID not too long ago.
*Correct Pronunciation: aa·muh·kraan
Author: Lingyang Jiang
Greek Alphabet
| Letter | Uppercase | Lowercase |
|---|
| Alpha | Α | α |
| Beta | Β | β |
| Gamma | Γ | γ |
| Delta | Δ | δ |
| Epsilon | Ε | ε |
| Zeta | Ζ | ζ |
| Eta | Η | η |
| Theta | Θ | θ |
| Iota | Ι | ι |
| Kappa | Κ | κ |
| Lambda | Λ | λ |
| Mu | Μ | μ |
| Nu | Ν | ν |
| Xi | Ξ | ξ |
| Omicron | Ο | ο |
| Pi | Π | π |
| Rho | Ρ | ρ |
| Sigma | Σ | σ |
| Tau | Τ | τ |
| Upsilon | Υ | υ |
| Phi | Φ | φ |
| Chi | Χ | χ |
| Psi | Ψ | ψ |
| Omega | Ω | ω |
