Fwd: Beta

[Laurence Horn]

There was also "beta male", as applied to Al Gore during the 2000 campaign, but that was different (although, unlike _beta_ in "beta blocker", another adjectival use).

LH

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Date: January 20, 2012 12:42:30 PM EST
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Beta
> Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> 
> The OED has draft additions for beta tester and beta customer, but today I encountered beta reader, which even has an article on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_reader).
> 
> If this use of beta hasn't spread to other uses, this meaning is transparent enough to do so. Perhaps an adjective meaning is called for.
> 
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org