OMICRON: Pronounce it correctly

I must write this letter or I will lose my mind. Everyone has heard of the new strain of COVID labeled “omicron.” But almost everyone mispronounces it.

I took a year of Greek in college (got the highest grade!). Omicron is the Greek letter for a short “o,” as in “on,” or “upon.” So it must be pronounced with an initial short “o.” Greek has an entirely separate letter for a long “O,” and it is “omega.”

I wish newscasters and others would get this right because it’s grating on the ears of those of us who know Greek. Omicron: short o. Omega: long o.

KARL KIME

Coeur d’Alene