Definition of beta

The term "beta" originated from the ancient Greek alphabet. In Greek, the second letter of the alphabet is βετα (beta). The Greek philosopher Plato used the term "beta" to denote a secondary or lesser entity when comparing it to an alpha (α), or primary entity. In science and technology, the term "beta" is used to describe a prototype, a test version, or a temporary phase of a product or system before it is released as the final version. It comes from the practice of using an animal called a beta test subject to test a product or system in real-world conditions before launching it for commercial or public use. The term "beta" is also prevalent in software development where beta refers to a software's final testing phase before its official release to the public. During the beta phase, developers release the software to a small group of users to test and provide feedback, which helps in ironing out any bugs, fixing issues, and improving user experience. In summary, the word "beta" is descended from the second letter of the Greek alphabet and is used to denote a secondary or lesser entity, including in reference to software, hardware, and biological or technological testing to evaluate function, reliability, and performance.