Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The 25th letter of the modern English alphabet.
  • noun Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter y.
  • noun The 25th in a series.
  • noun Something shaped like the letter Y.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See i-. For Middle English words with this prefix, see i-, or the form without the prefix.
  • The twenty-fifth letter in the English alphabet.
  • As a symbol:
  • In chem., the symbol of yttrium.
  • In ornithology, in myological formulas, the symbol of the accessory semitendinosus.
  • In mathematics:
  • [lowercase] In algebra, the second of the variables or unknown quantities.
  • [lowercase] In analytical geometry, the symbol of the ordinate or other rectilinear point-coördinate.
  • In mechanics, the component of a force in the direction of the axis of y.
  • As a medieval Roman numeral, the symbol for 150, and with a line drawn above it (Y), 150,000.
  • [lowercase] An abbreviation of year.
  • noun An old mode of writing the pronoun I.
  • noun Something resembling the letter Y in shape.
  • noun A very common suffix used to form adjectives from nouns, and sometimes from verbs, such adjectives denoting ‘having,’ ‘covered with,’ ‘full of,’ etc., the thing expressed by the noun, as in stony, rocky, icy, watery, rainy, dewy, meaty, juicy, mealy, salty, peppery, powdery, flowery, spotty, speckly, etc.
  • noun A diminutive suffix, appearing chiefly in childish names of animals, etc., as kitty, doggy, piggy, birdy, froggy, mousy, and similar names, or familiar forms of personal names, as Katy or Kitty (diminutive of Kate), Jenny, Hetty, Fanny, Willy, Johnny, Tommy, etc., such names being often spelled with -ie, as Willie, Davie, etc., a spelling common in Scotch use, and also in general use in names of girls, as Katie, Jennie, Hettie, Carrie, Lizzie, Nellie, Annie, etc.
  • noun A termination of nouns from the Latin or Greek, or of modern formation on the Latin or Greek model.
  • In electricity, the symbol for admittance, in alternating-current circuits. See admittance, 6.
  • [lowercase] An abbreviation of yard.
  • [lowercase or cap.] A corruption of the Anglo-Saxon character , equivalent to th, giving ye for the or thee; and, by contraction, ym for them; yn for then; yr for their; ys for this; yt for that. See def. 1.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • 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, §§ 145, 178-9, 272.
  • pronoun obsolete I.
  • noun One of the forked holders for supporting the telescope of a leveling instrument, or the axis of a theodolite; a wye.
  • noun A forked or bifurcated pipe fitting.
  • noun (Railroads) A portion of track consisting of two diverging tracks connected by a cross track.
  • noun (Surv.) an instrument for measuring differences of level by means of a telescope resting in Y's.
  • noun (Zoöl.) 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.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The twenty-fifth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
  • noun metrology Symbol for the prefix yocto-.
  • noun close front rounded vowel
  • noun Denoting an item that is twenty-fifth in a list.
  • noun The twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, called wye and written in the Latin script.
  • abbreviation Abbreviation of year.
  • abbreviation UK, television Abbreviation of youth., usually followed by an age appropriate for the content so marked.
  • abbreviation computing Abbreviation of yes.
  • abbreviation slang, text messaging, Internet Abbreviation of why.?

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the 25th letter of the Roman alphabet
  • noun a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys

Etymologies

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Examples

  • It is also agreed, y 'if any servante rune away from his maister into another of these confederated jurisdictions, that in such case, upon y = certificate of one magis - trate ill y« jurisdiction out of which y* said servante fledd, or upon other due proofe, the said servante shall be delivered, either to his maister, or any other y' pursues & brings such certificate or proofe.

    Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792

  • And though I doubt not but it will be more fully done by my honourd friends, whom it 'did more di - rectly concerne, and have more pcrticuler knowledg of y° matter, yet I will here give a hinte of y* same, and Gods providence in preventing y' hurte that might have come by y 'same.

    Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792

  • [257] Articles of Conffederation betweene y Plantations under y« Govermente of Massachusets, y = Plantations under y*

    Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792

  • But that which was more lamentable, and of all sorowes most heavie to be borne, was that many of their children, by these occasions, and y "great licen - tiousnes of youth in y* - countrie, and y° manifold temp - tations of the place, were drawne away by evill examples into extravagante & dangerous courses, getting y" raines off their neks, & departing from their parents.

    Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792

  • (x - y) ² = x² - 2xy + y² x² - y² = (x + y) (x - y) (x + y) ³ = x³ + 3x²y + 3xy² + y³

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2010

  • But our desires are that you will not entangle your selvs and us in any such unreasonable courses as those are, viz. y 'the marchants should have y® halfe of mens houses and lands at y "dividente; and that persons should be deprived of y*

    Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792

  • But heres not a word of y 'breacli of former bonds & covenants, or paimente of y° ships hire; this is passt by as if no such thing had been; besids what bonds or obligments so ever they had of him, ther never came any into y* hands or sight of y "partners here.

    Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1792

  • And government spending involves taking money from someone who would consume x% of it, and putting it in the pocket of someone who would consume y% of it, leading to an increase (decrease) in consumption of about (y-x)%-points, as well as to a change in savings, in investment, etc. etc.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Does Government Spending Stimulate? 2009

  • Cada aurora, en la basura, con un pan y un tallarín, se fabrica un barrilete para irse ¡y sigue aquí!

    veruscio Diary Entry veruscio 2009

  • Since not M, x sat loop (Ï), not M, y sat loop (Ï), M², y² sat loop (Ï) and for all formulas A in PDL with cycle, M, x sat A iff

    Propositional Dynamic Logic Balbiani, Philippe 2007

  • We also demonstrate that the sign, one of the most frequently occurring signs in Palaeolithic non-figurative art, has the meaning . The position of the within a sequence of marks denotes month of parturition, an ordinal representation of number in contrast to the cardinal representation used in tallies.

    An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar Bennett Bacon 2023

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  • Y. Chemical element symbol for Yttrium.

    December 1, 2007