Adjacent Words

Y definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

Y, the twenty fifth letter of the English Alphabet, is taken from the Greed. At the beginning of words, it is called an articulation or consonant, and with some propriety perhaps, as it brings the root of the tongue in close contact with the lower part of the palate, and nearly in the position to which the close g brings it. Hence it has happened that in a great number of words, g has been changed into y, as the Sax. Gear, into year; geornian, into yearn; gyllan, into yell; gealew, into yellow.
In the middle and at the end of words, y is precisely the same as I. It is sounded as I long, when accented, as in defy, rely; and as I short, when unaccented, as in vanity, glory, synonymous. This latter sound is a vowel. At the beginning of words, y answers to the German and Dutch J.
Y, as a numeral, stands for 150, and with a dash over it, for 150,000.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys [syn: yttrium, Y, atomic number 39]
2: the 25th letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: Y, y, wye]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: circa 1915 YMCA, YWCA II. symbol yttrium

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural y's or ys) Usage: often capitalized, often attributive Date: before 12th century 1. a. the 25th letter of the English alphabet b. a graphic representation of this letter c. a speech counterpart of orthographic y 2. a graphic device for reproducing the letter y 3. one designated y especially as the 25th in order or class or the second in order or class when x is made the first 4. something shaped like the letter Y II. abbreviation 1. yard 2. year

Britannica Concise

Berber dynasty that followed the Almohad dynasty in NW Africa in the 13th-15th cent. The Marinids were a tribe of the Zanatah group, which was allied to the Umayyads in Có rdoba. In 1248 Abu Yahya captured Fè s and made it the Marinid capital. The capture of Marrakech (1269) made the Marinids masters of Morocco. They waged inconclusive war in Spain and Africa that gradually depleted their resources, reducing the realm to anarchy in the 15th cent. Sadi sharifs captured Fè s in 1554.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. (also y) (pl. Ys or Y's) 1 the twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet. 2 (usu. y) Algebra the second unknown quantity. 3 Geom. the second coordinate. 4 a a Y-shaped thing, esp. an arrangement of lines, piping, roads, etc. b a forked clamp or support. 2. abbr. (also Y.) 1 yen. 2 Yeomanry. 3 US = YMCA, YWCA. 3. symb. Chem. the element yttrium.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Y Y (w[imac]), n.; pl. Y's (w[imac]z) or Ys. Something shaped like the letter Y; a forked piece resembling in form the letter Y. Specifically: (a) One of the forked holders for supporting the telescope of a leveling instrument, or the axis of a theodolite; a wye. (b) A forked or bifurcated pipe fitting. (c) (Railroads) A portion of track consisting of two diverging tracks connected by a cross track. Y level (Surv.), an instrument for measuring differences of level by means of a telescope resting in Y's. Y moth (Zo["o]l.), a handsome European noctuid moth Plusia gamma) which has a bright, silvery mark, shaped like the letter Y, on each of the fore wings. Its larva, which is green with five dorsal white species, feeds on the cabbage, turnip, bean, etc. Called also gamma moth, and silver Y.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Y Y (w[imac]). Y, the twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, at the beginning of a word or syllable, except when a prefix (see Y-), is usually a fricative vocal consonant; as a prefix, and usually in the middle or at the end of a syllable, it is a vowel. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 145, 178-9, 272. Note: It derives its form from the Latin Y, which is from the Greek [Upsilon], originally the same letter as V. Etymologically, it is most nearly related to u, i, o, and j. g; as in full, fill, AS. fyllan; E. crypt, grotto; young, juvenile; day, AS. d[ae]g. See U, I, and J, G. Note: Y has been called the Pythagorean letter, because the Greek letter [Upsilon] was taken represent the sacred triad, formed by the duad proceeding from the monad; and also because it represents the dividing of the paths of vice and virtue in the development of human life.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Y Y ([imac]), pron. I. [Obs.] --King Horn. Wyclif.