Alpha 0001 # a {al'-fah}; of Hebrew origin; the first letter of the alphabet; figuratively, only (from its use as a numeral) the first: -- {Alpha}. Often used (usually an, before a vowel) also in composition (as a contraction from 427) in the sense of privation; so, in many words, beginning with this letter; occasionally in the sense of union (as a contraction of 260).