Greek Alphabet and Glossary
Greek Alphabet and Glossary
| Α alpha (al-fah) | Β beta (bay-tah) | Γ gamma (gam-ah) |
| Δ delta (del-tah) | Ε epsilon (ep-si-lon) | Ζ zeta (zay-tah) |
| Η eta (ay-tah) | Θ theta (thay-tay) | Ι iota (eye-o-tah) |
| Κ kappa (cap-ah) | Λ lambda (lamb-da) | Μ mu (mew) |
| Ν nu (new) | Ξ xi (zie or zee) | Ο omicron (om-i-cron) |
| Π pi (pie) | Ρ rho (row) | Σ sigma (sig-mah) |
| Τ tau (taw) | Υ upsilon (oop-si-lon) | Φ phi (fie or fee) |
| Χ chi (kie) | Ψ psi (sigh) | Ω omega (o-may-gah) |
Glossary of Terms
Active: A member who has been initiated into lifelong Greek membership and is active and is in good standing at the collegiate level.
Alumni (ae): An initiated member(s) of a fraternity or sorority who has graduated and has left the chapter in good standing.
Bid: An formal invitation of membership extended to a prospective member by a fraternity or sorority
Bid Day: The last day of recruitment in which potential new members receive formal invitations to join a fraternity or sorority. Bid Day activities occur during formal recruitment in the fall semester
Big Brother/Big Sister: The new member selects an active member to serve as their Big Brother/Big Sister. This initiated member serves as a resource, role model and mentor for the new member or Little Brother/Little Sister.
Brother: A term used by fraternity members to refer to one another.
Chapter: The local group of undergraduate students on a particular campus recognized by the university and the (Inter) national organization.
Continuous Open Bidding: The opportunity for a chapter to invite prospective new members to join their fraternity or sorority. Sororities may continuously open bid any time throughout the year except during the formal recruitment process, summer break, and/or if they have reached total. Fraternities may continuously open throughout the year except during formal recruitment and summer break.
Depledge: Terminating one's Greek membership before initiation.
Formal Recruitment: The organized formal process of mutual selection between a prospective new member and an active chapter. IFC fraternities and Panhellenic participate in formal rush within the first few weeks of school in the fall semester. All Recruitment activities are alcohol free.
Fraternity: A group of men bonded together by their ritual that contains the founding principles, ideals, and aspirations of the group.
Initiation: A spiritually based ritual or ceremony, which marks the acceptance of a lifetime commitment to the fraternity or sorority.
Interfraternity Council (IFC): The governing body of fraternities at Angelo State University. IFC operates under the affiliation of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. All IFC chapter members are affiliated with the North-American Interfraternity Conference.
Initiated Member: Any member who has completed the new member process, has gone through the initiation ceremony, and is currently enrolled in college.
Legacy: The brother or sister, son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter of a fraternity or sorority member. Each chapter has its own policy regarding legacies. Being a legacy does NOT mean automatic membership into that chapter. Nonetheless, being a legacy does not hurt your chances at membership in any way.
New Member: A member of a fraternity or sorority who has not been initiated. New members may also be referred to as an associate, candidate or pledge.
New Member Program: A period of learning about fraternity and sorority life prior to initiation. This period varies for all groups.
Order of Omega National Greek Leadership Honor Society: An honor society for Greek members who demonstrate outstanding leadership and academic achievement.
Panhellenic Council (PHC): The governing body of sororities at Angelo State University. PHC operates under the affiliation of NPC (National Panhellenic Conference). All Panhellenic Council chapter members are affiliated with the National Panhellenic Conference
Philanthropy/Community Service: A charity/ service project sponsored by individual chapters or by councils.
Quota: The specified number of prospective new members to which each PHC sorority may extend a bid during the formal recruitment process. Quota is determined during the formal recruitment process.
Recruitment Counselor (Rho Chi): A neutral representative of a sorority who has disaffiliated herself from her chapter during formal sorority recruitment. She is specially trained to help and/or mentor prospective new members and answer any questions they may have about sorority membership.
Sister: A term used within a sorority when referring to members and new members.
Social: A get-together with another group for a party, dinner, or another fun occasion. Socials are also known as "mixers."
Sorority: A group of women bonded together by their ritual that contains the founding principles, ideals and aspirations of the group.
Total: The total number of active and new members a sorority may have at any given point in the semester. Total may be exceeded only during the formal recruitment process and is determined by the Panhellenic Council. Angelo State University's total is 38.