Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

omega-3 or omega 3?

English answer:

omega-3

Added to glossary by Margarida Martins Costelha
Sep 21, 2016 07:35
7 yrs ago
10 viewers *
English term

omega-3 or omega 3?

Non-PRO English Science Biology (-tech,-chem,micro-) essential fatty acids
What is the correct spelling? Are they both acceptable?
Responses
2 +8 omega-3
Change log

Sep 21, 2016 09:27: Edith Kelly changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (1): Mikhail Korolev

Non-PRO (3): Yvonne Gallagher, philgoddard, Edith Kelly

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Discussion

Margarida Martins Costelha (asker) Sep 22, 2016:
@ Anton Interesting point! Thank you very much.
Charles Davis Sep 21, 2016:
Thanks, Anton That makes perfect sense, and it also explains why APA style requires an EN-dash rather than a hyphen (see my comment on Tony's answer), because a minus sign is properly an EN-dash, not a hyphen.
Anton Konashenok Sep 21, 2016:
Why dash is mandatory The dash in "omega-3" is actually a minus sign by its origin. It means that in an N-atomic fatty acid, the double bond is at the (N-3)th atom. Omega is a designation of the last atom in the chain if you count from the carboxylic end.
Lingua 5B Sep 21, 2016:
staying independently or premodifying fatty acids I found a hyphen in both cases, examples (taken from Google search):

- Omega-3 fatty acids have a range of profound health benefits
- Here's a delicious way to get your omega-3s
- of not getting enough omega-3 in your diet outweighs the potential risk of pollutants

Responses

+8
23 mins
Selected

omega-3

I don't know if either version is more 'correct' than the other, but this is what I would use; it is very common in chemical names to join meaningful bits together with a '-' and I think this would be the case here.
Peer comment(s):

agree Klausrugund : omega-3
5 mins
Thanks, Klaus!
agree Charles Davis : I've been trying to find a definitive answer; some (e.g. the APA) use an EN-dash and others a hyphen, but all respectable scientific sources include a '-', so "omega 3" is probably wrong. // Anton's provided the explanation.
6 mins
Thanks, Charles! Quite surprised by an en-dash, can't really see any justification for that, but there you go! In any event, I feel SOME link is necessary.
agree Vidya Thatte
19 mins
Thanks, Vidya!
agree Lingua 5B
48 mins
Thanks, Lingua!
agree philgoddard
57 mins
Thanks, Phil!
agree Edith Kelly
1 hr
Thanks, Edith!
agree Charlesp : I would have thought that “omega 3” could be written with or without a dash – however it appears that without a dash (though one does see that sometimes) is wrong.
1 hr
Thanks, Charles!
agree Yasutomo Kanazawa
4 hrs
Thanks, Yasutomo!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Tony and everyone!"
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