eta

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

eta¹ (ˈiːtə)

—n
	the seventh letter in the Greek alphabet (Η, η), a long vowel sound, transliterated as e or ē

[Greek, of Phoenician origin; compare Hebrew heth]

eta² (ˈeɪtə)

—n , pl eta, etas
	(in Japan, formerly) a member of a class of outcasts who did menial and dirty tasks

[C19: Japanese]

ETA¹

—*abbreviation for*
	estimated time of arrival

ETA² (ˈɛtə)

—*n acronym for*
	Euzkadi ta Askatsuna: an organization of militant Basque nationalists attempting to gain independence for the Basques, esp those ruled by Spain, until a ceasefire in 1998, by means of guerrilla warfare

[Basque, literally: Basque Nation and Liberty]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

e.t.a.

abbreviation of estimated time (of) arrival, first attested 1939.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

eta e·ta (ā'tə, ē'tə)
n.

Symbol η The seventh letter of the greek alphabet.

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

ETA

embryo toxicity assay
Employment and Training Administration
estimated time of arrival

Matching Quote

"The essence of guerrilla warfare is to establish foci, or liberated areas, in the countryside and to set up small military units which will gradually grow in strength, number and equipment—from squads to companies and regiments, eventually to divisions and armies, as in Yugoslavia and China during the Second World War—in order to fight battles against government troops. In the liberated areas, the guerrillas establish their own institutions, conduct propaganda and engage in other open political activities. None of this applies to terrorists, whose base of operations is in the cities, and who have to operate clandestinely in small units. Any major concentration would immediately expose them to retaliation by the government. The terrorists may be part of a political movement that engages in propaganda and other political activities (such as the IRA and the Basque ETA), but there is a strict division of labor between the legal and the military arms of the movement."

-Walter Laqueur

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eta

e·ta

E.T.A.