English Online Dictionary. What means y? What does y mean?
Translingual
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
See also
- (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
Pronunciation
Symbol
y
- (metrology) Symbol for the prefix yocto-.
- (IPA) close front rounded vowel
- (IPA, superscript) [y]-coloring, a [y] offglide, or a weak, fleeting or epenthetic [y] – see also ʸ.
- Denoting an item that is twenty-fifth in a list.
Gallery
- Letter styles
See also
Other representations of Y:
English
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /ˈwaɪ/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /i/, /ɪ/, /aɪ/, /ə/, /j/
- (letter name): Rhymes: -aɪ
- Homophones: why, Wye, wye
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y, plural ys or y's)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, called wy or wye and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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 (“that”), yͧ (“thou”), and ye (“the”) (which see for more).
Etymology 2
Abbreviations.
y
- (stenoscript) the sound sequence /ɔɪ̯/.
- (stenoscript) Abbreviation of why.
- (stenoscript) the prefix -ry or -rry.
Noun
y
- Abbreviation of year.
- (UK, television) Abbreviation of youth, usually followed by an age appropriate for the content so marked.
- Y7
- (computing) Abbreviation of yes.
Derived terms
- Y2K
Adverb
y (not comparable)
- (slang, text messaging, Internet slang, stenoscript) Abbreviation of why.
See also
- U
- V
Aragonese
Etymology
From Latin et, from Proto-Indo-European *éti.
Conjunction
y
- and
Asturian
Etymology
From Latin et, from Proto-Indo-European *éti.
Conjunction
y
- and
Pronoun
y (y (or -y), plural ys/yos or -ys/-yos)
- Pronoun for the third-person singular indirect object.
Usage notes
- Usually seen as -y
Azerbaijani
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /j/
Letter
y lower case (upper case Y)
- The thirty-first letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Basque
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /i ɡreko/, [i ɣ̞re̞.ko̞]
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-sixth letter of the Basque alphabet, called i greko and written in the Latin script.
Usage notes
- Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z
Catalan
Conjunction
y
- Obsolete form of i (“and”).
Cornish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /iː/
Pronoun
y
- (Standard Cornish) they (third person plural pronoun)
- (Standard Cornish, Standard Written Form) his
Dutch
Alternative forms
- ij (in some words)
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /ɛɪ/, /iˈɡrɛk/, /ˌɣrik.sə ˈɛɪ/
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Dutch alphabet.
Usage notes
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/).
See also
- Previous letter: x
- Next letter: z
Fala
Conjunction
y
- Alternative form of i
Faroese
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /iː/
- Homophone: i
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The twenty-sixth letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) bókstavur; A a, Á á, B b, D d, Ð ð, 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
Finnish
Etymology
The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on Swedish, German and Latin. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and y for development of the glyph itself. In particular, the use of ⟨y⟩ for /y/ follows the Swedish orthography, which in turn follows Latin.
Pronunciation
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fourth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called yy and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
French
Etymology 1
From i grec (“Greek i”), referring to the letter upsilon (Υ), originally borrowed from the Greek alphabet, as opposed to "Latin i" (I).
Pronunciation
- (letter name) IPA(key): /i.ɡʁɛk/
Letter
y
- a letter in the French alphabet, after x and before z
Etymology 2
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. Compare Catalan hi.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /i/
- Homophones: hie, hies, hient, i
Pronoun
y (adverbial)
- there (at a place)
- there, thither (to there)
- Used as a pronoun to replace an adverbial phrase starting with à.
- With verbs: see Appendix:French verbs followed by à for verbs which use this structure.
- (archaic) With adjectives. Only used with a handful of adjectives (the most common combination being y compris, which is a special case), mainly in legal terminology.
- personnes y nommées ― Persons named there(in)
- procédures y afférentes ― Related procedures
- documents y relatifs ― Related documents
- eaux y affluentes ― Tributary waters
Derived terms
- y avoir
- y compris
Related terms
Etymology 3
Eye dialect spelling or contraction of il and ils.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /i/
Pronoun
y
- (Quebec, France, colloquial) he: alternative form of il
- (Quebec, France, colloquial) they: alternative form of ils
- (Quebec, colloquial) they: alternative form of elles
Further reading
- “y”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Fula
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /j/
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- A letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Usage notes
- Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).
See also
- (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
German
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /yː/, /y/, /ʏ/, /i/, /ɪ/, /j/
- (letter name) IPA(key): /ˈʏpsilɔn/
Letter
y n (strong, genitive y, plural y)
- the letter y
Guaraní
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɨ/
Noun
y
- water
Derived terms
- ysyry (“river”)
Haitian Creole
Etymology
Contraction of yo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /j/
Pronoun
y
- Contraction of yo.
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): [ˈi]
- (letter name): IPA(key): [ˈipsilon]
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- A letter of the extended Hungarian alphabet, called ipszilon and written in the Latin script.
Usage notes
As shown in the alphabet below, this letter normally occurs in Hungarian words only as part of four digraphs: gy, ly, ny, and ty (with their long counterparts: ggy, lly, nny, tty). Aside from them, the terms containing y defined in an extensive Hungarian monolingual dictionary are baby-doll, baby-sitter, body (“bodice”), body-building / bodyzik / bodyzó, boy, brandy, citoyen, country/countryzene, cowboy/cowboyfilm/cowboykalap, curry, disc-jockey, doyen, dry, dyn, fair play, háryjános/háryjánoskodik, intercity, joystick, play back, playboy, royalista, sherry, spray, whisky, yard, yperit, yuppie, złoty and the letter itself. Additionally, a newer and more comprehensive but as yet incomplete dictionary contains bicsérdysta, byte, copyright, and cowboycsizma. (The forms dandy, gentry, happy end (“happy ending”), jersey, maya, nylon, and yen are also mentioned as alternative forms in the former volume, but their current standard spelling is dendi, dzsentri, dzsörzé, hepiend, jen, maja, and nejlon.)
Proper names written with y include the country names Guyana, Paraguay, Seychelle-szigetek, and Uruguay and the capital names Conakry, Port Moresby, and Reykjavík. Other names deriving from Latin alphabets are also retained (such as English Calgary, Hollywood, Kentucky, Montgomery, New Jersey, New York, Sydney, Wyoming etc., German Bayreuth, Speyer, Steyr, French Lyon, Mayotte, Nancy, Vichy, and Polish Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Przemyśl). Otherwise, this letter is usually transcribed in country and city names, for example Jemen (“Yemen”), Malajzia (“Malaysia”), Nepjida (“Naypyidaw”), and Rijád (“Riyadh”).
Declension
Derived terms
See also
- (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.
References
Further reading
- y in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Ido
Pronunciation
- (context pronunciation) IPA(key): /j/
- (letter name) IPA(key): /je/
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Indonesian
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /je/
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /j/
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Indonesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) huruf; 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
Italian
Letter
y f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case Y)
- the twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet, called ipsilon, i greco or i greca in Italian
Usage notes
- The letter Y is not considered part of the Italian alphabet. It is found mainly in loanwords.
Kabuverdianu
Etymology
From Spanish y and Portuguese e .
Conjunction
y
- and
References
- Gonçalves, Manuel (2015) Capeverdean Creole-English dictionary, →ISBN
Kamayurá
Noun
y
- Alternative form of 'ɨ
References
- Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN
Khumi Chin
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔɘ˥/
Particle
y
- no
References
- K. E. Herr (2011) The phonological interpretation of minor syllables, applied to Lemi Chin[1], Payap University, page 47
Ladin
Conjunction
y
- and
Latgalian
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /ɨ/
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The fourteenth letter of the Latgalian alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /yː/, [yː]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /i/, [iː]
Noun
ȳ f (indeclinable)
- A name of the letter Y.
Synonyms
- (name of the letter Y): ī graeca, ȳpsīlon
Coordinate terms
- (Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta
References
- y in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 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).
Lithuanian
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /iː/
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The fifteenth letter of the Lithuanian alphabet, called i ilgoji and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɨ/
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The thirty-first letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called y and written in the Latin script.
- The name of the Latin-script letter y/Y.
See also
- See Template:list:Latin script letters/dsb.
- See Template:list:Latin script letter names/dsb.
Malay
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Mandinka
Pronoun
y
- they, them (personal pronoun)
See also
Manx
Article
y
- Alternative form of yn
Mbyá Guaraní
Noun
y
- water
References
- Léxico Guaraní, dialeto Mbyá : versão para fins acadêmicos (1998)
Middle English
Etymology 1
Pronoun
y
- Alternative form of I
Etymology 2
Preposition
y
- Alternative form of in (“in”)
Middle French
Adverb
y
- there (in a given place)
Norwegian
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /yː/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /yː/, /y/
Letter
y
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Usage notes
- Perhaps the most troublesome sound in Norwegian. Even some native speakers tend to merge it into /i(ː)/.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From Old Norse ýr, from Proto-Germanic *īhwaz. Akin to English yew.
Noun
y m (definite singular yen, indefinite plural yar, definite plural yane)
- (obsolete) yew
- Synonym: barlind
Related terms
- Ivar m
- Iveland
- Ivesdal
Etymology 2
From Old Norse úa, influenced by kry.
Verb
y (present tense yr, past tense ydde, past participle ytt/ydd, passive infinitive yast, present participle yande, imperative y)
- to crawl (about small animals)
References
- “y” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Nupe
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-eighth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) banki; A a (Á á, À à), B b, C c, D d, Dz dz, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì), J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, Ts ts, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh
Old Polish
Alternative forms
- ÿ
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *i, from Proto-Indo-European *ei, an early locative singular determiner, formed from the root *h₁e-, *h₁o-.
Conjunction
y
- and (cumulative coordinating conjunction)
Descendants
- Polish: i
References
- B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “i, hi”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
Old Tupi
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʔɨ/
Noun
y
- water
- river
References
- LEMOS BARBOSA, A. Curso de Tupi antigo. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria São José, 1956.
Papiamentu
Alternative forms
- i (alternative spelling)
Etymology
From Spanish y and Portuguese e and Kabuverdianu i.
Conjunction
y
- and
Polish
Etymology
The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See The History of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and y for development of the glyph itself.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɨ/
Letter
y (upper case Y, lower case)
- The twenty-ninth letter of the Polish alphabet, called y or igrek and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, B b, C c, Ć ć, D d, E e, Ę ę, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, Ń ń, O o, Ó ó, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Ś ś, T t, U u (V v), W w (X x), Y y, Z z, Ź ź, Ż ż
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Letter name: (ípsilon)
Letter name: (i grego)
Phoneme:
- IPA(key): /i/, /j/ (loanwords)
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à, Â â, Ã ã), 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
Quechua
Adverb
y
- really, truly
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /j/, /i/
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The thirtieth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called igrec or i grec and written in the Latin script.
Usage notes
Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) A a, Ă ă, Â â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Î î, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z
Spanish
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (phoneme) /ʝ/, /i/
- Rhymes: -e
- /i/ in the conjunction (see below) and in word-final diphthongs (e.g. hoy, rey); otherwise /ʝ/.
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-sixth letter of the Spanish alphabet, called ye or i griega and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Spanish è or e, from Latin et.
Alternative forms
- e
- i (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (preconsonantal) /i/ [i]
- Rhymes: -i
- Syllabification: y
- IPA(key): (prevocalic) /ʝ/
- (Castilian)
Conjunction
y
- and
- 1605, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote de la Mancha1, Chapter I:
- 1605, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quijote de la Mancha1, Chapter I:
- (in names of number) and
- setenta y seis ― seventy-six
- (in arithmetic) plus, and
- uno y uno son dos ― one plus one is two
- (informal) well
- ¡Y por supuesto! ― Well, of course!
- (informal) what about, how about, where is/are the
- Pero, ¿y el concierto? ¿Ya no vamos? ― But what about the concert? Are we not going anymore?
- ¿Y la niña? ¿Está a salvo? ― How about the girl? Is she safe?
- ¿Y los archivos? Debo echarles un vistazo. ― Where are the files? I should take a look at them.
Usage notes
- Before words that begin with the /i/ sound, the form e is used instead.
Derived terms
Further reading
- “y”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Tày
Pronunciation
- (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA(key): [ʔi˧˧]
- (Trùng Khánh) IPA(key): [ʔi˦˥]
Verb
y
- to imitate, to mimic
Preposition
y
- along
- y te hết ― do like he/she does (literally do along him/her)
- according to
- y cằm po̱ me̱ ― according to the parents' words
References
Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary][2][3] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
Turkish
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-eighth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ye and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Turkmen
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /ɯ/, /ɯː/
Letter
y (upper case Y)
- The twenty-eighth letter of the Turkmen alphabet, called y and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔi˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɪj˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɪj˧˧]
Etymology 1
Sino-Vietnamese word from 伊.
Pronoun
y
- (archaic, literary) he; him; she; her
- (derogatory) he, him
See also
- thị
Etymology 2
Sino-Vietnamese word from 依.
Adverb
y
- (informal) exactly; precisely (like)
- y như ― exactly like/as
- y như thật ― so realistic (literally, “exactly like real life”)
- y chang ― very much like
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Sino-Vietnamese word from 醫.
Noun
y
- (medicine) medicine; physician
Derived terms
Wayampi
Noun
y
- Alternative form of ɨɨ (“water”)
- ay'ú. ― I drink water.
References
- Handbook of Amazonian Languages, volume 4 (1998), edited by Desmond C. Derbyshire, Geoffrey K. Pullum
Welsh
Etymology 1
Alternative forms
- (with grave accent to indicate otherwise unpredictable short vowel /ə/): ỳ
- (with acute accent to indicate unusually stressed short vowel): ý
- (with circumflex to indicate otherwise unpredictable or unusually stressed long vowel): ŷ
- (with diaeresis to indicate disyllabicity): ÿ
Pronunciation
- (standard) IPA(key): /ə/
- (informal) IPA(key): /əː/
- Rhymes: -ə
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-ninth letter of the Welsh alphabet, called y and written in the Latin script. It is preceded by w.
Mutation
- y cannot be mutated but, being a vowel, does take h-prothesis, for example with the word ysgol (“school; ladder”):
Derived terms
- Digraph sequences: yw
See also
- (Latin-script letters) llythyren; A a (Á á, À à, Â â, Ä ä), B b, C c, Ch ch, D d, Dd dd, E e (É é, È è, Ê ê, Ë ë), F f, Ff ff, G g, Ng ng, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Î î, Ï ï), J j, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ô ô, Ö ö), P p, Ph ph, R r, Rh rh, S s, T t, Th th, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, Ü ü), W w (Ẃ ẃ, Ẁ ẁ, Ŵ ŵ, Ẅ ẅ), Y y (Ý ý, Ỳ ỳ, Ŷ ŷ, Ÿ ÿ)
- (Latin-script letter names) llythyren; a, bi, ec, èch, di, èdd, e, èf, èff, èg, eng, aetsh, i / i dot, je, ce, el, èll, em, en, o, pi, ffi, ciw, er, rhi, ès, ti, èth, u / u bedol, fi, w, ecs, y, sèd
Noun
y f (plural yau)
- The name of the Latin-script letter Y.
Mutation
Etymology 2
From Middle Welsh y, yr, from Old Welsh ir, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *sindos.
Alternative forms
- 'r (used after vowels)
- yr (used before vowels and h)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ə/
- Rhymes: -ə
Article
y (definite) (triggers soft mutation of a feminine singular noun, except ll and rh remain unmutated)
- the
- y bachgen m ― the boy
- y ferch f ― the girl
- y llong f ― the ship
- y bechgyn pl ― the boys
- y merched pl ― the girls
Etymology 3
Merger of two formerly distinct particles, ydd and yd.
- (1) from earlier ydd, from Middle Welsh yð, from Proto-Celtic *ide- (compare Breton e, ez, Cornish y, yth, Old Irish id), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁i-dʰei- (compare Latin ibi (“here”), Avestan 𐬌𐬛𐬁 (idā, “here, in the same way”), and Sanskrit इह (ihá, “here”)).
- (2) from earlier yd, from Middle Welsh yt, from Old Welsh it, from Proto-Celtic *ita- (compare Breton e, ez); akin to Latin ita (“so, thus”), dialectal Lithuanian it (“as”), and Sanskrit íti (“thus, in this manner”).
Alternative forms
- yr (used before vowels and h)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ə/
- Rhymes: -ə
Particle
y
- (literary) that (preverbal particle used to mark a subordinate clause)
- (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
- (literary) preverbal particle used to mark an affirmative verb in a main clause
Usage notes
- 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.
Related terms
- a
- bod
- mai (with fronted element, marked for emphasis)
- i
- na (negative)
Yoruba
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /j/
- (letter name): IPA(key): /jí/
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Yoruba alphabet, called yí and written in the Latin script.
See also
- (Latin-script letters) lẹ́tà; A a (Á á, À à, Ā ā), B b, D d, E e (É é, È è, Ē ē), Ẹ ẹ (Ẹ́ ẹ́, Ẹ̀ ẹ̀, Ẹ̄ ẹ̄), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Ī ī), J j, K k, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ō ō), Ọ ọ (Ọ́ ọ́, Ọ̀ ọ̀, Ọ̄ ọ̄), P p, R r, S s, Ṣ ṣ, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Ū ū), W w, Y y
- As used in Benin: (Latin-script letters) lɛ́tà; A a, B b, D d, E e, Ɛ ɛ, F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i, J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ɔ ɔ, P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, U u, W w, Y y
Zulu
Letter
y (lower case, upper case Y)
- The twenty-fifth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also
- (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