# "I Phelta Thi" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165 "2002-03-14T01:10:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/1 "2002-03-14T01:10:13Z")
How did the custom of naming fraternities and sororities with letters from the Greek alphabet come into practice, and is there any meaning behind the letters used, and their placement in the name. Does “Lambda Kappa Delta” really mean something different than “Kappa Lamda Delta?” Is there an ordering system to this? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/2 "2002-03-14T01:25:23Z")
The first “greek” fraternity was Phi Beta Kappa, my old frat. Here’s a link that explains more. [http://www.shsu.edu/~eng\_wpf/frat\_hist.html](http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/frat_hist.html) Basically The letters “Phi Beta Kappa” refer to a Greek motto, meaning “love of wisdom, the guide of life.” It was devoted to intellectual pursuits, and used the greek connection to differentiate itself from the rather raucous, dissolute social organizations which were prevalent on campus. QtM ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/3 "2002-03-14T02:12:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \ ***The letters “Phi Beta Kappa” refer to a Greek motto, meaning "love of wisdom, the guide of life."** [symbol] **F** ilosojia **B** iou **K** ubernhthV[/symbol] The original “cyber” hangout. 😉 Welcome back, Symbol font! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/4 "2002-03-14T04:11:02Z")
Just have to say, lovely use of “Family Guy” reference. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/5 "2002-03-14T04:33:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Superdude \* > **I Phelta Thi** How about Tappa Kegga Day? :D:D ---
**Author:** ![struct](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@struct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struct)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/6 "2002-03-14T05:16:34Z")
I Eta Pi ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/7 "2002-03-14T14:31:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > Just have to say, lovely use of “Family Guy” reference. 🙂 Minor hijack. I Phelta Thi and Tappa Kegga Bru predate Family Guy by roughly a decade at least – I first saw them referenced in the Legend Entertainment computer game _Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls_, released 1991. And here I thought Superdude was an old-skool text adventure fan and was gonna give him mad props. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/8 "2002-03-14T19:54:23Z")
Most fraternities name themselves in the same way as Phi Beta Kappa did, by picking a greek phrase that exemplifies their philosophy and then taking some letters from this phrase to serve as the public name of the group. The phrase itself is typically kept secret. There’s no sanctioning body which gives out the names, nor is there any sort of rule to the order in which they’re used; a new group just picks their own and starts using it. (The names of established fraternities are typically copyrighted, so you can’t just up and start a new group named Beta Theta Pi or Delta Delta Delta.) Of course, you don’t have to name your new fraternity after a greek phrase – for instance, one national fraternity is named Triangle; another (which AFAIK has only one chapter, at Cornell) is called Seal & Serpent. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![ivebeenabadboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b77776/32.png) [@ivebeenabadboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivebeenabadboy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/9 "2002-03-15T01:00:19Z")
When I was in college, there was only one fraternity I would have anything to do with: [symbol]LSD[/symbol] Lambda Sigma Delta. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-phelta-thi/98165/10 "2002-03-15T02:31:17Z")
I Phelta Thigh and all the other Greek cuteisms were certainly around when I was in college and that was during the Nixon Era. I would bet they are from the early part of the century. If you’ve ever read old college humor magazines, you would know that this is exactly the kind of humor they found hysterical.