Standard Lemma guide

iota

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /aɪˈəʊtə/
  • US: /aɪˈoʊtə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊtə
  • CMU ARPABET: AY2 OW1 T AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • As a Greek numeral, iota represents ten.
  • There are twelve iotas on that page.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The Latin letter Ɩ (minuscule: ɩ).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A jot; a very small, insignificant quantity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught, bissel, bit, crumb, glimpse, dab, damn, dash, diddly, glint, dot, spatter, drop, dusting, fleck, glimmer, hint, flip, flyspeck, grain, halfpennyworth, inch, iota, jot, lick, mite, modicum, molecule, morceau, morsel, mote, ooch, ounce, particle, pennyworth, piece, pinch, relish, scantling, semblance, scent, scintilla, scooch, scrap, scruple, shred, skerrick, skoosh, skosh, sliver, smattering, smidge, smidgen, smidget, smidgy, smitch, smithereen, soupçon, spark, speck, speckle, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, tad, tidbit, tidge, tinge, tittle, toddick, touch, trace, trifle, tuppence worth, vestige, whiff, whit

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A bank account that earns interest and pays it to a third party, generally a charity; the principal is typically being held in escrow by the accountholder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, finance

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: letter, letter of the alphabet, alphabetic character

6

noun

Meaning 6

a tiny or scarcely detectable amount

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shred, scintilla, whit, tittle, smidgen, smidgeon, smidgin, smidge

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: small indefinite quantity, small indefinite amount

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *yad- (“hand”). Doublet of jot and yodh. Sense “jot, small quantity” in reference to a phrase in the New Testament: ”one iote or one title, shall in no wise passe from the law”, iota being the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.

Acronym of interest on trust account.

Across languages

Translations

63 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Aghwan: 𐔺𐕒𐔳 (yod) — Greek letter
  • Arabic: إِيُوتَا (ʔiyūtā) — Greek letter
  • Asturian: iota — Greek letter
  • Catalan: iota — Greek letter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 約塔 /约塔 (yāotǎ) — Greek letter
  • Czech: jota — Greek letter
  • Czech: iota — Greek letter
  • Czech: ióta — Greek letter
  • Dutch: jota — Greek letter
  • Esperanto: joto — Greek letter
  • Faroese: jota — Greek letter
  • Finnish: ioota — Greek letter
  • French: iota — Greek letter
  • Galician: iota — Greek letter
  • Georgian: იოტა (ioṭa) — Greek letter
  • German: Jota — Greek letter
  • Gothic: 𐌾𐍉𐍄𐌰 (jōta) — Greek letter
  • Greek: γιώτα (gióta) — Greek letter
  • Greek: ιώτα (ióta) — Greek letter
  • Ancient Greek: ἰῶτα (iôta) — Greek letter
  • Hungarian: ióta — Greek letter
  • Ido: iota — Greek letter
  • Interlingua: iota — Greek letter
  • Italian: iota — Greek letter
  • Japanese: イオタ (iota) — Greek letter
  • Japanese: イオータ (iōta) — Greek letter
  • Korean: 요타 (yota) — Greek letter
  • Latin: iota — Greek letter
  • Malay: iota — Greek letter
  • Polish: jota — Greek letter
  • Portuguese: iota — Greek letter
  • Romanian: iota — Greek letter
  • Russian: йо́та (jóta) — Greek letter
  • Russian: ио́та (ióta) — Greek letter
  • Slovak: jota — Greek letter
  • Spanish: iota — Greek letter
  • Tagalog: iyota — Greek letter
  • Aghwan: 𐔺𐕒𐔳 (yod) — small quantity
  • Old Armenian: յովտ (yovt) — small quantity
  • Catalan: iota — small quantity
  • Dutch: jota — small quantity
  • Finnish: hitunen — small quantity
  • Finnish: hiven — small quantity
  • Georgian: იოტა (ioṭa) — small quantity
  • Georgian: ერთი ბეწო (erti bec̣o) — small quantity
  • Swabian: Muggaseggele — small quantity
  • Hebrew: קוֹצוֹ שֶׁל יוֹד (qotzó shel yod) — small quantity
  • Hungarian: jotta — small quantity
  • Ido: iota — small quantity
  • Interlingua: iota — small quantity
  • Italian: briciolo — small quantity
  • Latin: pilus — small quantity
  • Polish: jota — small quantity
  • Portuguese: pingo — small quantity
  • Russian: йо́та (jóta) — small quantity
  • Russian: ио́та (ióta) — small quantity
  • Spanish: poco — small quantity
  • Swedish: jota — small quantity
  • Swedish: dugg — small quantity
  • Swedish: dyft — small quantity
  • Swedish: smula — small quantity
  • Ottoman Turkish: پارچه (parça) — small quantity
  • Ottoman Turkish: آوج (avuc) — small quantity