Greek Terminology

Greek Life Terminology

It's all Greek to me!

A
Alpha

B
Beta

G
Gamma
D
Delta

E
Epsilon

Z
Zeta

H
Eta

Q
Theta

I
Iota

K
Kappa

L
Lambda

M
Mu

ACTIVE - an initiated member of a fraternity/sorority chapter

ALUMNA: any initiated member of a sorority who has graduated from college or left college prior to graduation

ALUMNAE: the plural form of alumna

ALUMNUS: any initiated member of a fraternity who has graduated or left college prior to graduation

ALUMNI: the plural form of alumnus for men or a combination of men and women

BID: an invitation from a sorority or fraternity to pledge

CHAPTER: group of collegians, officially chartered and recognized at a given college or university

COLLEGIANS: an undergraduate member of a college chapter. The word collegiate is an adjective and is only used in conjunction with a noun, such as a collegiate member

COLONY - a new chapter, or chapter returning to campus after an absence. A colony is not a full-fledged chapter of an organization, but is in the process of becoming a chapter and receiving their charter.

COMMUNITY SERVICE - work done by members of a fraternity or sorority to support an organization or cause (i.e. Big Brothers/Big Sisters, tutoring at elementary schools, etc.)

CONTINUOUS OPEN RECRUITMENT (COR) - Panhellenic sororities term for ongoing, informal recruitment. Chapters participate in COR if they do not have more than 90 members at any time during the academic year.

FOUNDER: one who originates or establishes a fraternity or sorority

GOOD STANDING: the status of chapter or an individual when all responsibilities and standards have been met

GRADUATE MEMBER - term used to describe a member of an NPHC or NALFO organization who has either graduated from college, or completed the "alumni status" process with their organization. Members of Greek chapters possess an exclusive, lifetime membership to their organization.

GREEK AMBASSADOR - members of IFC or Panhellenic chapters who are selected to provide information to potential students/parents via brief tours of Greek Row during Alive!. Greek Ambassadors occasionally assist with similar aspects of other campus visitation programs.

GREEK: term applied to all sororities and fraternities

HAZING: While WSU and the state of WA have a legal definition of hazing, generally speaking, hazing includes any action, participated in voluntarily or involuntarily, by any member of an organization that causes, or is likely to cause, physical, mental, or emotional harm

HOUSE: a chapter’s living or meeting facility. Never used as a substitute word for "chapter," i.e., a man or woman pledges a chapter, not a house

INITIATE: a man or woman who has undergone the initiation ceremony into a sorority or fraternity

INITIATION - the process by which a person becomes an active member of an organization

INTER-FRATERNITY COUNCIL: the governing body of fraternities

LEGACY: a sister/brother, son/daughter or grandson/granddaughter of an initiated member of a sorority or fraternity

MEMBER: someone who has been initiated into their chapter

MEMBERSHIP INTAKE - recruitment process used by the NPHC and NALFO organizations

NATIONAL PAN-HELLENIC COUNCIL - the governing council for nine historically African American fraternities and sororities

NEOPHYTE - a newly initiated fraternity or sorority member, though this term is not used by all organizations

NEW MEMBER/ASSOCIATE MEMBER - the term used to describe a first year, uninitiated member of an IFC or Panhellenic chapter. Previously referred to as "a pledge"

PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION: an organization consisting of 14 nationally recognized sororities established to promote the Greek system and maintain relations among Greek groups.

PEER REVIEW BOARD: the disciplinary board for sororities.

PHILANTHROPY: efforts by fraternities/sororities to raise money for an organization (i.e. sporting events and "a-thons" used to raise money)

PLEDGE: a young man or woman preparing to become an initiated member of a fraternity or sorority

POTENTIAL NEW MEMBER (PNM) - the term used to describe a man or woman seeking membership in an IFC or Panhellenic organization. PNMs were previously called "rushees".

QUOTA: the number of pledges any chapter may pledge during a specific rush period

RECOMMENDATION or REFERENCE - a written letter or statement recommending a potential new member for membership in a sorority

RECRUITMENT - generally refers to the 4-day mutual selection process in which those seeking membership in an IFC or Panhellenic chapter participate. Also known as "Formal Recruitment". Formal Recruitment "week" takes place the week before the academic year begins in August. Formerly referred to as "rush"

RECRUITMENT BOOKLET - the primary promotion and information source for incoming students about fraternities and sororities at WSU

RECRUITMENT COUNSELOR - members of an IFC fraternity who disaffiliate during formal recruitment and assists potential new members through the recruitment process, similar to an OC for students going through orientation

RHO GAMMA or RECRUITMENT GUIDE - a member of a Panhellenic sorority who disaffiliates during formal recruitment and assists potential new members through the recruitment process, similar to an OC for students going through orientation

RITUAL: the ceremonies celebrated and conducted by every chapter; the secret rites to membership

SUMMER SIGNING - generally refers to the process in which those seeking membership in an IFC fraternity participate during the summer only. Fraternities host events, and/or one-on-one meetings with potential new members, the result of which could be the PNM joining the chapter during the summer. Only fraternities participate in "summer recruitment"

TRIBUNAL: the disciplinary board for fraternities

N
Nu

X
Xi

O
Omicron

P
Pi

R
Rho

S
Sigma

T
Tau

U
Upsilon

F
Phi

C
Chi

Y
Psi

W
Omega

WSU Councils:

National Pan-Hellenic Conference (NPHC) - governing board for the nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities, often referred to as The Divine Nine. There are six of the nine NPHC organizations at WSU, and a campus NPHC.

Panhellenic Council - governing board for 14 residential sororities (one sorority on Greek row is not currently part of the Panhellenic Association)

Interfraternity Council (IFC) - governing board for 23 residential fraternities. One fraternity on Greek row is not currently part of the IFC).

National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) -There are 2 sororities and 1 fraternity at WSU. There is not currently a campus NALFO Council.

Other Terminology Dos and Don'ts

USE Old Term, don't use

Chapters houses

Fraternities frats

Greek students Greeks

Greek Community Greek System

Panhellenic PAN

Panhellenic Executive Officers on Pan

Interfraternity Council Officers IFC

House Directors House Moms

Kitchen or House Staff House Boys

Recruitment Rush

This web page is maintained by the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life at Washington State University.

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USE	Old Term, don't use
Chapters	houses
Fraternities	frats
Greek students	Greeks
Greek Community	Greek System
Panhellenic	PAN
Panhellenic Executive	Officers on Pan
Interfraternity Council Officers	IFC
House Directors	House Moms
Kitchen or House Staff	House Boys
Recruitment	Rush