Mathematical Bold Italic Small Beta

Use 𝜷 in HTML or \symbfit{\beta} with unicode-math.

The HTML character reference resolves to this exact Unicode character. The LaTeX command typesets bold italic beta; it formats the symbol instead of putting this literal character in your source.

What does bold italic beta mean?

It identifies beta as a distinct mathematical variable.

The Greek letter beta names the variable; its bold weight and italic slant distinguish it from other beta forms. Some scientific styles use bold italics for vectors, while others use upright bold. The equation's definitions tell you what beta means here.

Where does beta come from?

Its Greek ancestor came from Phoenician writing. The Greek alphabet adapted writing used by the Phoenicians, an ancient eastern Mediterranean people. Beta descends from their consonant letter bet, for the sound b as in “book.” The earliest surviving Greek alphabet examples date to c. 760 BCE. Ancient Greek β also represented the b sound; in Modern Greek, it represents v as in “van.”

A 1998 Unicode proposal argued for distinct Latin and Greek mathematical alphabets because a letter's style can distinguish variables. Flattening bold or italic letters to plain text can erase that distinction; this form preserves beta's bold italic style as part of the character.