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Original · left

Delta (letter)

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

First in use: c. 2021

Delta / Delta (letter) / SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

The Greek letter vs. the COVID variant.

Which meaning of Delta is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Delta (letter) came first (ancient / pre-modern). SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant arrived in 2021. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Delta (letter)SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Delta (letter)

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Duplicate · c. 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

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More duplicated terms

Science & space