they are greek letters, which stand for secret words or phrases (which only members are told). for example:
Kappa=the Greek letter for 'K'
Alpha=the Greek letter for 'A'
etc.
so Kappa Delta stands for a phrase in Greek whose words begin with K and D.
Kappa Delta (sometimes called the nickname 'KD') is a national sorority. each chapter is at a different college though, so each chapter needs a separate name to identify itself among the other KD chapters. so, 'Alpha Rho' is a subgroup of KD's, a particular chapter. sisters of the Alpha Rho chapter would still refer to themselves as Kappa Deltas, since that is their national affiliation. non-members would be interested to know a sorority member's national affiliation (KD), not her chapter (Alpha Rho). so if you ask a member of the Alpha Rho chapter what sorority she's in, she would say, "KD."
[This message has been edited by twinstars (edited August 15, 2000).]
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