The Etymology of Beta
The word 'beta' descends from Phoenician 'bēth' (house), the second letter of the Phoenician alphabet. Early forms of the letter B resemble the floor plan of a simple shelter. Together with 'alpha' from 'āleph' (ox), the two form the word 'alphabet' — literally 'ox-house,' reflecting the economic priorities of Bronze Age pastoral society. Hebrew 'beth' and Arabic 'baa' share the same origin. The computing sense of 'beta' emerged at IBM in the 1950s: 'alpha testing' was done internally, 'beta testing' was the next phase with external users. The Greek letters have been recruited for countless purposes — beta radiation, beta blockers, beta fish — but the word always remembers that it started as a house.