y

y (upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter Y):  Ýý  Ỳỳ  Ŷŷ  ẙ  Ÿÿ  Ỹỹ  Ẏẏ  Ȳȳ  Ỷỷ  Ỵỵ  Ɏɏ  Ƴƴ  ʏ  Ｙｙ  Ꝡꝡ

• IPA

  (file)

y

1. (metrology) Symbol for the prefix yocto-.
2. (IPA) close front rounded vowel
3. Denoting an item that is twenty-fifth in a list.

• Letter styles
• 
  Capital and lowercase versions of Y, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase Y in Fraktur

Other representations of Y:

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪ/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /i/, /ɪ/, /aɪ/, /ə/, /j/
• Homophones: why, Wye, wye

y (lower case, upper case Y, plural y's)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, called wye and written in the Latin script.

• The name of this letter is spelled wy or wye

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z
• Historically, this letter was sometimes used to approximate þ, as in yt and ye (which see for more).

y

1. Abbreviation of year.
   • 2003, Howard Tanner, Sonia Jones, Becoming a Successful Teacher of Mathematics

     Consider the following questions selected from the tests and estimate the proportion of Y8 pupils you would expect to answer correctly.

2. (Britain, television) Abbreviation of youth., usually followed by an age appropriate for the content so marked.

   Y7

3. (computing) Abbreviation of yes.
4. (slang, text messaging, Internet slang) Abbreviation of why.

• Y2K

• U
• V

From Latin et, from Proto-Indo-European *éti.

y

1. and

From Latin et, from Proto-Indo-European *éti.

y

1. and

y (y (or -y), plural ys/yos or -ys/-yos)

1. Pronoun for the third-person singular indirect object.

   da-y pan

   give him/her bread

• Usually seen as -y

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /j/

y lower case (upper case Y)

1. The thirty-first letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /iː/

y

1. (Standard Cornish) they (third person plural pronoun)
2. (Standard Cornish, Standard Written Form) his

• ij (in some words)

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛɪ/

• Audio

  (file)

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Dutch alphabet.

In certain dialects the letter is pronounced similar to IPA: /ji:/. In these dialects, they will actually write "y" such as in "jy" (IPA: /ji:/) instead of modern standard Dutch jij (IPA: /jɛɪ/).

• Previous letter: x
• Next letter: z

y

1. Alternative form of i

• IPA^(key): /iː/
• Homophone: i

y (upper case Y)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) bókstavur; A a, Á á, B b, D d, Рð, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ó ó, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ú ú, V v, Y y, Ý ý, Æ æ, Ø ø

• Audio

  (file)

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called yy and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

From i grec (“Greek i”), referring to the letter upsilon (Υ), originally borrowed from the Greek alphabet, as opposed to "Latin i" (I).

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /i.ɡʁɛk/

y

1. a letter in the French alphabet, after x and before z

10th century; from Old French i, from Latin hīc (“here”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰi-ḱe (“this, here”)), with meaning influenced by Old French iv (“there, thither”), itself from Latin ibī. Derivation from the latter poses difficulty from a phonetic standpoint.

• IPA^(key): /i/
• Homophones: hie, hies, hient, i

y (adverbial)

1. there (at a place)

   Il est dans la maison. Il y est.

   He is in the house. He is there.

2. there, thither (to there)

   Nous allons au Mexique. Nous y allons.

   We are going to Mexico. We are going there.

3. Used as a pronoun to replace à followed by an indirect object.
   1. With verbs: see Appendix:French verbs followed by à for verbs which use this structure.
   2. (archaic) With adjectives. Only used with handful of adjectives (the most usual being y compris, which is a special case), mainly in legal language.

      personnes y nommées ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

      procédures y afférentes ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

      documents y relatifs ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

      eaux y affluentes ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Eye dialect spelling of il. or Contraction of il. .

• IPA^(key): /i/

y

1. (Quebec, France, colloquial) He: alternative form of il
2. (Quebec, France, colloquial) They: alternative form of ils
3. (Quebec, colloquial) They: alternative form of elles

• “y” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• IPA^(key): /j/

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. A letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

• (Latin-script letters) karfeeje; ', A a, B b, Mb mb, Ɓ ɓ, C c, D d, Nd nd, Ɗ ɗ, E e, F f, G g, Ng ng, Ɠ ɠ, H h, I i, J j, Nj nj, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, Ñ ñ, Ɲ ɲ, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Ƴ ƴ

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /yː/, /y/, /ʏ/, /i/, /ɪ/, /j/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈʏpsilɔn/

y n (genitive y, plural y)

1. the letter y

y

1. water

• (context pronunciation) IPA^(key): /j/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /je/

y (upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

y m or f (invariable)

1. See under Y

From Spanish y and Portuguese e .

y

1. and

• Gonçalves, Manuel (2015) Capeverdean Creole-English dictionary, →ISBN

y

1. Alternative form of 'ɨ

• Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN

y

1. and

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɨ/

y (upper case Y)

1. The fourteenth letter of the Latgalian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ā ā, B b, C c, Č č, D d, E e, Ē ē, F f, G g, Ģ ģ, H h, I i, Y y, Ī ī, J j, K k, Ķ ķ, L l, Ļ ļ, M m, N n, Ņ ņ, O o, Ō ō, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, Ū ū, V v, Z z, Ž ž

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /yː/

ȳ ? (indeclinable)

1. A name of the letter Y.

• (name of the letter Y): ī graeca
• (name of the letter Y): ȳpsīlon

• (Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

• y in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, Latin Grammar (3rd ed., 1895), page 1

  The Latin names for the letters… For Y the sound was used, for Z the Greek name (zēta).

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /iː/

y (upper case Y)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Lithuanian alphabet, called i ilgoji and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, B b, C c, Č č, D d, E e, Ę ę, Ė ė, F f, G g, H h, I i, Į į, Y y, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, Ų ų, Ū ū, V v, Z z, Ž ž

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

y

1. they, them (personal pronoun)

y

1. Alternative form of yn

y

1. water

• Léxico Guaraní, dialeto Mbyá : versão para fins acadêmicos (1998)

From Old English iċ.

y

1. Alternative form of I

From Old English in.

y

1. Alternative form of in (“in”)

y

1. there (in a given place)
   • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 12:

     Or me dictes fist Lancelot, des lettres qui illec sont escriptes, savez vous qui les y fist mettre

     Now tell me, said Lancelot, about these letters that are written here, do you know who put them here?

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /yː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /yː/, /y/

y

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• Perhaps the most troublesome sound in Norwegian. Even some native speakers tend to merge it into /i(ː)/.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔɨ/

y

1. water
2. river

• LEMOS BARBOSA, A. Curso de Tupi antigo. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria São José, 1956.

• i (alternative spelling)

From Spanish y and Portuguese e and Kabuverdianu i.

y

1. and

• Audio (BR)

  (file)

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à,  â, àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

y

1. really, truly

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ʝ/, /i/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ɟ͡ʝe/

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Spanish alphabet, called ye or i griega and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o (Ó ó), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

From Old Spanish é or e, from Latin et.

• e
• i (obsolete)

• (preconsonantal) IPA^(key): /i/
• (prevocalic) IPA^(key): /ʝ/
• Rhymes: -i

y

1. and
   • 1605, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote de la Mancha¹, Chapter I:

     Es, pues, de saber que este sobredicho hidalgo, los ratos que estaba ocioso —que eran los más del año—, se daba a leer libros de caballerías, con tanta afición y gusto, que olvidó casi de todo punto el ejercicio de la caza y aun la administración de su hacienda; y llegó a tanto su curiosidad y desatino en esto, que vendió muchas hanegas de tierra de sembradura para comprar libros de caballerías en que leer, y, así, llevó a su casa todos cuantos pudo haber dellos.

     You must know, then, that the above-named gentleman whenever he was at leisure (which was mostly all the year round) gave himself up to reading books of chivalry with such ardour and avidity that he almost entirely neglected the pursuit of his field-sports, and even the management of his property; and to such a pitch did his eagerness and infatuation go that he sold many an acre of tillageland to buy books of chivalry to read, and brought home as many of them as he could get.

2. (in names of number) and

   setenta y seis

   seventy-six

3. (in arithmetic) plus, and

   uno y uno son dos

   one plus one is two

4. (informal) well

   ¡Y por supuesto!

   Well, of course!

• Before words that begin with the /i/ sound, the form e is used instead.

• “y” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ye and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) harf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɯ/, /ɯː/

y (upper case Y)

1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Turkmen alphabet, called y and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) harp; A a, B b, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ä ä, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, Ž ž, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, W w, Y y, Ý ý, Z z

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔi˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɪj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɪj˧˧]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 伊.

y

1. (archaic, literary) he; him; she; her
   • 1958, Nguyễn Đổng Chi, "Thạch Sùng còn thiếu mẻ kho hay là Sự tích con mối" (Kho tàng truyện cố tích Việt Nam nr. 36), NXB Văn sử địa

     Hồi đó ở kinh đô có một người em hoàng hậu họ Vương. Y cũng là tay cự phú nổi tiếng tiền rừng biển bạc và xài phí vào bậc nhất.

     At the time, there was in the capital a brother of the queen of the Wáng family. He was also a famous for being immensely rich and was an extravagant spender of first degree.

2. (formal, derogatory) he/him, that jerk/prick/thug/criminal

• thị

Sino-Vietnamese word from 依.

y

1. (informal) exactly; precisely (like)

   y như ― exactly like/as

   y như thật ― so realistic (literally, “exactly like real life”)

   y chang ― very much like

y

1. Alternative form of ɨɨ (“water”)

   ay'ú. ― I drink water.

• Handbook of Amazonian Languages, volume 4 (1998), edited by Desmond C. Derbyshire, Geoffrey K. Pullum

• IPA^(key): /ə/

• 'r (used after vowels)
• yr (used before vowels)

y (definite) (triggers Soft Mutation of a feminine singular noun, except ll and rh remain unmutated)

1. the

   y bachgen ― the boy

   y ferch ― the girl

   y llong ― the ship

   y bechgyn ― the boys

   y merched ― the girls

• yr (used before vowels)

y

1. (literary) that (preverbal particle used to mark a subordinate clause)

   Wyt ti'n meddwl y gall hi ddod?

   Do you think that she can come?

   Mae hi'n gwybod y byddet ti'n gwrando arni hi.

   She knows that you would listen to her.

2. (literary) which, whom (particle used with indirect relative clauses)

   y dyn y dysgais ei fab ― the man whose son I taught

   y ferch y gwrandewais arni ― the girl to whom I listened

3. (literary) preverbal particle used to mark an affirmative verb in a main clause
   • 1620, William Morgan, Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, Genesis 1:1

     Yn y dechreuad y creodd Duw y nefoedd a’r ddaear.

     In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

• y is almost always omitted in colloquial speech.
• y is used to mean 'that' (i.e. mark a subordinate clause) when the subordinate clause begins with an affirmative form of bod not in the present tense, or another affirmative verb in any tense apart from the preterite.

• bod
• mai
• i

y (lower case, upper case Y)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z