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Glite Dictionary
delta wave

delta wave

1 7.2
A slow, large brain wave that appears during deep, dreamless sleep
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛltə weɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : onda delta
  • The brain produces delta waves during deep, dreamless sleep.
  • delta waves and theta waves

In other words, if people get really good at this, their brain is actually has a delta wave that's acting as a carrier to a Theta wave.

Examples

  • We have detected the presence of delta waves here at Home HQ, which are the same sort of waves generated during deep sleep in humans.

  • Then the lower ones we call them beta, theta, alpha and delta waves.

    After Death (2023)

  • Too much, too much, too much delta wave on this side of your brain, the right side of your brain into the temporal lobe, which has to do with memory.

  • In other words, if people get really good at this, their brain is actually has a delta wave that's acting as a carrier to a Theta wave.

    Chris Williamson

  • Electroencephalography demonstrates excessive diffuse slowing of theta and delta waves, and an occasional triphasic wave, suggestive of a mild diffuse encephalopathy.

    Academic text (2004)

  • When I scan myself for brain activity, all I get are low-frequency delta waves.

  • We have detected delta waves here, which are generated during deep sleep in humans.

Synonyms

delta rhythm
vsdelta wave
  • Specialized
7.7

A very slow, large brain wave that appears during deep dreamless sleep

is the same scientific term but uses a different word for the pattern

How Slow

delta wave
  • Specialized
1 7.2
theta wave
  • Specialized
2 7.7
alpha wave
  • Specialized
3 6.4
beta wave
  • Specialized
1 5.1

Surface Forms

delta wave singular
delta waves plural

Morphology

delta + wave

While 'wave' clearly signals a type of oscillation and a learner who knows both words could infer 'delta wave' is some kind of wave, the crucial meaning components (the specific low-frequency, high-amplitude band and its link to deep sleep) come from technical, domain-specific knowledge of the label 'delta'. Because 'delta' here is a specialist label rather than a semantically transparent modifier, the full meaning is not predictable without prior exposure or background knowledge.

Etymology

Delta wave gets its name from early brain studies where scientists used the Greek letter delta and the word wave for the very slow, wide signals seen on a machine that records brain activity, because they looked like big slow waves. So, delta wave means the slow, large brain rhythm that happens in 'deep sleep'.