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For example, the OED has the following for the word "ask"

Forms: 
α. Old English ascian ...
β. Old English achsian ...
γ. Middle English aische ...

Do (α, β, γ) mean anything special, or are they simply equivalent to enumerating a list with (a, b, c), (i, ii, iii), etc.?

Lisa
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    It is simply an enumeration of the list. Using lowercase Greek letters for this purpose is somewhat unusual in English context, in a German context it is seen more frequently. – Sir Cornflakes May 05 '22 at 08:35
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    https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/key-to-symbols-and-other-conventions/ scroll down to “ Within a forms section” – Alex B. May 05 '22 at 12:36

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