Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Beta \Be"ta\, n. [Gr. bh^ta.]
   The second letter of the Greek alphabet, B, [beta]. See {B},
   and cf. etymology of {Alphabet}.

   Note: Beta (B, [beta]) is used variously for classifying, as:
   (a) (Astron.) To designate some bright star, usually the
       second brightest, of a constellation, as, [beta]
       Aurig[ae].
   (b) (Chem.) To distinguish one of two or more isomers; also,
       to indicate the position of substituting atoms or groups
       in certain compounds; as, [beta]-naphthol. With acids, it
       commonly indicates that the substituent is in union with
       the carbon atom next to that to which the carboxyl group
       is attached.

Source : WordNet®

beta
     adj 1: second in order of importance; "the candidate, considered a
            beta male, was perceived to be unable to lead his
            party to victory"
     2: preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware
        product; "a beta version"; "beta software"

beta
     n 1: the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet
     2: beets [syn: {genus Beta}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

beta
     
        /bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/
     
        See {beta conversion}, {beta test}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]

BETA
     
        Kristensen, Madsen , Moller-Pedersen &
        Nygaard, 1983.  Object-oriented language with block structure,
        coroutines, concurrency, {strong typing}, part objects,
        separate objects and classless objects.  Central feature is a
        single abstraction mechanism called "patterns", a
        generalisation of classes, providing instantiation and
        hierarchical inheritance for all objects including procedures
        and processes.
     
        Mjolner Informatics ApS, Aarhus, implementations for Mac, Sun,
        HP, Apollo.
     
        E-mail: .
     
        Mailing list: .
     
        ["Object-Oriented Programming in the BETA Programming
        Language", Ole Lehrmann et al, A-W June 1993, ISBN
        0-201-62430-3].
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (1995-10-31)