Omega (
capital:
Ω,
lowercase:
ω;
Greek Ωμέγα) is the 24th and last letter of the
Greek alphabet. In the
Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" (
ō mega, mega meaning 'great'), as opposed to
omicron, which means "little O" (
o mikron, micron meaning "little"). This name is
Byzantine; in
Classical Greek, the letter was called
ō , whereas the omicron was called
ou . The form of the uppercase letter derives from that of an omicron (Ο) broken up at the side (), with the edges subsequently turned outward (, , ). The modern lowercase shape goes back to the
uncial form , a form that developed during the 3rd century BC in ancient handwriting on papyrus, from a flattened-out form of the letter () that had its edges curved even further upward.