alpha and omega
1
8.1
- idiom
- /ˈæl.fə ənd oʊˈmeɪ.gə/
- Literature
:
el alfa y la omega
- And yet I think we have acted as if it was the alpha and Omega of international politics.
Examples
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But new historicism, the alpha and omega of current Renaissance criticism, has largely abandoned the earlier critical interest in coherence and harmony.
Academic text (1998) -
Think of love as a state of grace-- not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega.
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Quip is the alpha and Omega of tooth brushing technology.
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Moreover, religion used to serve as the alpha and omega of moral, existential, and metaphysical thought for the vast majority of the population.
Blog text (17) -
I think it's ironic that the alpha and omega of science in these discussions is usually evolution, among the topics of science made elective for most students.
Blog text (28) -
He recognizes that "acknowledgment of the exigencies of the world market and the acceptance of European obligations" constitute the "alpha and omega" of contemporary European politics.
Academic text (1992) -
In many ways, the alpha and omega of any successful business is customer satisfaction.
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For many fans, that series was the alpha and omega of fantasy literature, capturing all facets of the genre.
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In our family, kindness and respect are the alpha and omega of our values, guiding our interactions with others.
Synonyms
468
3.2
The most important central part of something
28
3.4
The most important part that holds a group or thing together
6
7.6
The most important thing or main aim
1
5.3
In a way that shows something is most important
Antonyms
How Essential
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'alpha' (the beginning) and 'omega' (the end) connected by 'and', so the sense 'the beginning and the end' or 'the whole of something' is directly inferable from the parts. This is a widespread, cross-linguistic metaphorical pairing, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Alpha and omega comes from the Greek alphabet, where alpha is the first letter and omega is the last. Because this image was used in the Bible to mean 'the beginning and the end', people now use the phrase to say something is 'the most important part' or 'the whole'.