y

• ythe 25th letter of the Roman alphabet
• Y chromosomethe sex chromosome that is carried by men
• y currentThe current through one branch of the star arrangement of a three-phase circuit.
• y levelSee under Y, n.
• y-A prefix of obscure meaning, originally used with verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and pronouns. In the Middle English period, it was little employed except with verbs, being chiefly used with past participles, though occasionally with the infinitive Ycleped, or yclept, is perhaps the only word not entirely obsolete which shows this use. That no wight mighte it see neither yheere. Chaucer. Neither to ben yburied nor ybrent. Chaucer. Note: Some examples of Chaucer's use of this prefix are; ibe, ibeen, icaught, ycome, ydo, idoon, ygo, iproved, ywrought. It inough, enough, it is combined with an adjective. Other examples are in the Vocabulary. Spenser and later writers frequently employed this prefix when affecting an archaic style, and sometimes used it incorrectly.
• y-axisthe vertical axis in a plane coordinate system
• Y-linked genea gene located on a Y chromosome
• Y-shapedshaped in the form of the letter Y
• Y2Kthe year 2000 in the Gregorian calendar
• Y2K compliantprepared to accurately process date and time data between and into the 20th and 21st centuries
• yaYea. [Obs.] Chaucer.
• yacareA South American crocodilian (Jacare sclerops) resembling the alligator in size and habits. The eye orbits are connected together, and surrounded by prominent bony ridges. Called also spectacled alligator, and spectacled cayman. [Written also jacare.] Note: The name is also applied to allied species.
• yaccaWest Indian evergreen with medium to long leaves
• yacca podocarpWest Indian evergreen with medium to long leaves
• yachtan expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing
• yacht chaira light folding armchair for outdoor use
• yacht clubclub that promotes and supports yachting and boating
• yacht racea race between crews of people in yachts
• yachterOne engaged in sailing a jacht.
• yachtingwater travel for pleasure
• yachting capa cap with a flat circular top and a visor
• yachtmanSee Yachtsman.
• yachtsmana person who owns or sails a yacht
• yachtswomana person who owns or sails a yacht
• yacknoisy talk
• yack awaytalk incessantly and tiresomely
• yafGave. See Give. Chaucer.
• yaffingaleThe yaffle. [Prov. Eng.]
• yaffleThe European green woodpecker (Picus, or Genius, viridis). It is noted for its loud laughlike note. Called also eccle, hewhole, highhoe, laughing bird, popinjay, rain bird, yaffil, yaffler, yaffingale, yappingale, yackel, and woodhack.
• Yafoa port in western Israel on the Mediterranean; incorporated into Tel Aviv in 1950
• yagerIn the German army, one belonging to a body of light infantry armed with rifles, resembling the chasseur of the French army. [Written also jager.]
• yagia sharply directional antenna
• Yagi aeriala sharply directional antenna
• yaguarundiSame as Jaguarondi. [Written also yaguarondi, and yagouarondi.]
• Yahithe Yanan language spoken by the Yahi
• yahooa person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
• Yahvea name for the God of the Old Testament as transliterated from the Hebrew consonants YHVH
• Yahveha name for the God of the Old Testament as transliterated from the Hebrew consonants YHVH
• yahweA modern transliteration of the Hebrew word translated Jehovah in the Bible; -- used by some critics to discriminate the tribal god of the ancient Hebrews from the Christian Jehovah. Yahweh or Yahwe is the spelling now generally adopted by scholars.
• yahwehA modern transliteration of the Hebrew word translated Jehovah in the Bible; -- used by some critics to discriminate the tribal god of the ancient Hebrews from the Christian Jehovah. Yahweh or Yahwe is the spelling now generally adopted by scholars.
• yahwismThe religion or worship of Yahweh (Jehovah), or the system of doctrines, etc., connected with it.
• yahwistThe author of the passages of the Old Testament, esp. those of the Hexateuch, in which God is styled Yahweh, or Jehovah; the author of the Yahwistic, or Jehovistic, Prophetic Document (J); also, the document itself.
• yajur-vedaSee Veda.
• yaklarge long-haired wild ox of Tibet often domesticated
• yak butterbutter made from yaks' milk
• yak's milkthe milk of a yak
• yakamilkSee Trumpeter, 3 (a).
• yakareSame as Yacare.
• yakety-yaknoisy talk
• Yakimaa town in south central Washington
• yakinA large Asiatic antelope (Budorcas taxicolor) native of the higher parts of the Himalayas and other lofty mountains. Its head and neck resemble those of the ox, and its tail is like that of the goat. Called also budorcas.
• yakoots(Ethnol.) A nomadic Mongolian tribe native of Northern Siberia, and supposed to be of Turkish stock. They are mainly pastoral in their habits. [Written also Yakuts.]
• yakshaA kind of demigod attendant on Kuvera, the god of wealth.
• yakutThe Turkish language of the Yakuts, a Mongolian people of northeastern Siberia, which is lingua franca over much of eastern Siberia.
• yakuzaorganized crime in Japan; an alliance of criminal organizations and illegal enterprises
• yalahThe oil of the mahwa tree.
• Yalea university in Connecticut
• Yale Universitya university in Connecticut
• Yaltaa resort city in Crimea in the southern Ukraine on the Black Sea; site of the Allied conference between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill in February 1945
• Yalta Conferencea conference held in Yalta in February 1945 where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill planned the final stages of World War II and agreed to the territorial division of Europe
• YaltopyaEthiopia is a republic in northeastern Africa on the Red Sea; formerly called Abyssinia
• Yaluriver in eastern Asia; rises in North Korea and flows southwest to Korea Bay (forming part of the border between North Korea and China)
• Yalu Rivera battle in the Korean War (November 1950); when UN troops advanced north to the Yalu River 200,000 Chinese troops crossed the river and drove them back
• yamedible tuberous root of various yam plants of the genus Dioscorea grown in the tropics world-wide for food
• yam beanCentral American twining plant with edible roots and pods; large tubers are eaten raw or cooked especially when young and young pods must be thoroughly cooked; pods and seeds also yield rotenone and oils
• yam familyyams
• yam plantany of a number of tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea many having edible tuberous roots
• yamaThe king of the infernal regions, corresponding to the Greek Pluto, and also the judge of departed souls. In later times he is more exclusively considered the dire judge of all, and the tormentor of the wicked. He is represented as of a green color, with red garments, having a crown on his head, his eyes inflamed, and sitting on a buffalo, with a club and noose in his hands.
• Yamaltua three-tone Chadic language
• YamamotoJapanese admiral who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (1884-1943)
• YamaniSaudi Arabian minister of petroleum who was a central figure in the creation of OPEC (born in 1930)
• yamenIn China, the official headquarters or residence of a mandarin, including court rooms, offices, gardens, prisons, etc.; the place where the business of any public department is transcated.
• yammaThe llama.
• yammercomplain whiningly
• Yamoussukrocapital of the Ivory Coast
• yampAn umbelliferous plant (Carum Gairdneri); also, its small fleshy roots, which are eaten by the Indians from Idaho to California.
• Yanathe Yanan language spoken by the Yana
• Yanana language group of the Hokan family
• yangthe bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
• Yang Chen NingUnited States physicist (born in China) who collaborated with Tsung Dao Lee in disproving the principle of conservation of parity (born in 1922)
• Yangonthe capital and largest city of Myanmar; located in the south near the Irrawaddy river delta
• Yangtzethe longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai
• Yangtze Kiangthe longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai
• Yangtze Riverthe longest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet into the East China Sea near Shanghai
• yankan American (especially to non-Americans)
• yankeeused by Southerners for an inhabitant of a northern state in the United States (especially a Union soldier)
• Yankee corncorn having kernels with a hard outer layer enclosing the soft endosperm
• yankee-doodleThe name of a tune adopted popularly as one of the national airs of the United States.
• yankeeismA Yankee idiom, word, custom, or the like. Lowell.
• yankersomeone who gives a strong sudden pull
• yanquapinwater lily of eastern North America having pale yellow blossoms and edible globular nutlike seeds
• Yaoundethe capital of Cameroon
• yaourtA fermented drink, or milk beer, made by the Turks.
• yapinformal terms for the mouth
• yap awaytalk incessantly and tiresomely
• yapockA South American aquatic opossum (Chironectes variegatus) found in Guiana and Brazil. Its hind feet are webbed, and its fore feet do not have an opposable thumb for climbing. Called also water opossum. [Written also yapack.]
• yaponSame as Yaupon.
• yarageThe power of moving, or being managed, at sea; -- said with reference to a ship. Sir T. North.
• yardan enclosure for animals (as chicken or livestock)
• yard birda person serving a sentence in a jail or prison
• yard donkeya winch (or system of winches) powered by an engine and used to haul logs from a stump to a landing or to a skid road
• yard goodsmerchandise in the form of fabrics sold by the yard
• yard grasscoarse annual grass having fingerlike spikes of flowers; native to Old World tropics; a naturalized weed elsewhere
• yard linein football; line parallel to the goal lines indicating position on the field
• yard marker(football) a marker indicating the yard line
• yard measurea ruler or tape that is three feet long
• yard salean outdoor sale of used personal or household items held on the seller's premises
• yard-long beanSouth American bean having very long succulent pods
• yardagedistance measured in the aggregate number of yards
• yardarmeither end of the yard of a square-rigged ship
• yardbirda person serving a sentence in a jail or prison
• Yardbird ParkerUnited States saxophonist and leader of the bop style of jazz (1920-1955)
• yardera winch (or system of winches) powered by an engine and used to haul logs from a stump to a landing or to a skid road
• yardfulAs much as a yard will contain; enough to fill a yard.
• yardgrasscoarse annual grass having fingerlike spikes of flowers; native to Old World tropics; a naturalized weed elsewhere
• yardiemember of an international gang of Jamaican criminals who sell drugs and violence
• yardlandA measure of land of uncertain quantity, varying from fifteen to forty acres; a virgate. [Obs.]
• yardmana laborer hired to do outdoor work (such as mowing lawns)
• yardmastera railroad employer who is in charge of a railway yard
• yardsticka ruler or tape that is three feet long
• yardwandA yardstick. Tennyson.
• yareReady; dexterous; eager; lively; quick to move. [Obs.] "Be yare in thy preparation." Shak. The lesser [ship] will come and go, leave or take, and is yare; whereas the greater is slow. Sir W. Raleigh. Soon. [Obs.] Cursor Mundi.
• yarelyIn a yare manner. [Obs.] Shak.
• yarkTo yerk. [Prov. Eng.]
• yarkeSame as Saki.
• yarmelkea skullcap worn by religious Jews (especially at prayer)
• yarmulkaa skullcap worn by religious Jews (especially at prayer)
• yarmulkea skullcap worn by religious Jews (especially at prayer)
• yarna fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving
• yarn-dyedye (fabric) before it is spun
• yarn-spinninginclined to tell long and involved stories (often of incredible happenings)
• yarnenMade of yarn; consisting of yarn. [Obs.] "A pair of yarnen stocks." Turbervile.
• yarnutSee Yernut.
• yarrTo growl or snarl as a dog. [Obs.] Ainsworth.
• yarrishHaving a rough, dry taste. [Prov. Eng.]
• yarrowubiquitous strong-scented mat-forming Eurasian herb of wasteland, hedgerow or pasture having narrow serrate leaves and small usually white florets; widely naturalized in North America
• yarwhipThe European bar-tailed godwit; -- called also yardkeep, and yarwhelp. See Godwit. [Prov. Eng.]
• yashmacthe face veil worn by Muslim women
• yashmakthe face veil worn by Muslim women
• Yasser ArafatPalestinian statesman who was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (1929-2004)
• YastrzemskiUnited States baseball player (born in 1939)
• yataghana long Turkish knife with a curved blade having a single edge
• yateA gate. See 1st Gate. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Spenser.
• yatobyoa highly infectious disease of rodents (especially rabbits and squirrels) and sometimes transmitted to humans by ticks or flies or by handling infected animals
• yaudSee Yawd. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
• yaulSee Yawl.
• yaulpTo yaup.
• yaupemit long loud cries
• yauperOne who, or that which, yaups.
• yauponA shrub (Ilex Cassine) of the Holly family, native from Virginia to Florida. The smooth elliptical leaves are used as a substitute for tea, and were formerly used in preparing the black drink of the Indians of North Carolina. Called also South-Sea tea. [Written also yapon, youpon, and yupon.]
• yaupon hollyan evergreen shrub
• yautiatropical American aroid having edible tubers that are cooked and eaten like yams or potatoes
• Yavapaithe Yuman language spoken by the Yavapai
• yawan erratic deflection from an intended course
• yaw-weedA low, shrubby, rubiaceous plant (Morinda Royoc) growing along the seacoast of the West Indies. It has small, white, odorous flowers.
• yawdA jade; an old horse or mare. [Written also yaud.] [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Grose.
• yawiA fore-and-aft-rigged vessel with a mainmast stepped a little farther forward than in a sloop and carrying a mainsail and jibs, with a jigger mast far aft, usually placed abaft the rudder post.
• yawla sailing vessel with two masts; a small mizzen is aft of the rudderpost
• yawl-riggedHaving two masts with fore-and-aft sails, but differing from a schooner in that the after mast is very small, and stepped as far aft as possible. See Illustration in Appendix.
• yawnan involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
• yawnera person who yawns
• yawningshowing lack of attention or boredom
• yawninglyIn a yawning manner.
• yawpcomplain whiningly
• yawsan infectious tropical disease resembling syphilis in its early stages; marked by red skin eruptions and ulcerating lesions
• Yaya branch of the Tai languages
• Yazooa river that rises in west central Mississippi and flows southwest to empty into the Mississippi River above Vicksburg
• yazoo fraudThe grant by the State of Georgia, by Act of Jan. 7, 1795, of 35,000,000 acres of her western territory, for $500,000, to four companies known as the Yazoo Companies from the region granted ; -- commonly so called, the act being known as the Yazoo Frauds Act, because of alleged corruption of the legislature, every member but one being a shareholder in one or more of the companies. The act granting the land was repealed in 1796 by a new legislature, and the repealing provision was incorporated in the State constitution in 1798. In 1802 the territory was ceded to the United States. The claims of the purchasers, whom Georgia had refused to compensate, were sustained by the United States Supreme Court, which (1810) declared the repealing act of 1796 unconstitutional. Congress in 1814 ordered the lands sold and appropriated $5,000,000 to pay the claims.
• Yazoo Rivera river that rises in west central Mississippi and flows southwest to empty into the Mississippi River above Vicksburg
• Yba unit of information equal to 1024 zebibytes or 2^80 bytes
• ybeBeen. Chaucer.
• Ybita unit of information equal to 1000 zettabits or 10^24 bits
• yclepedCalled; named; -- obsolete, except in archaic or humorous writings. [Spelt also yclept.] It is full fair to ben yclept madame. Chaucer. But come, thou goddess fair and free. In heaven ycleped Euphrosyne. Milton. Those charming little missives ycleped valentines. Lamb.
• ydoDone. Chaucer.
• ydradDreaded. Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad. Spenser.
• yean old method of printing the article the (AS. þe), the "y" being used in place of the Anglo-Saxon thorn. It is sometimes incorrectly pronounced ye. See The, and Thorn, n., 4. An eye. [Obs.] From his yën ran the water down. Chaucer. The plural of the pronoun of the second person in the nominative case. Ye ben to me right welcome heartily. Chaucer. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified. 1 Cor. vi.
• yeanot only so, but
• yeadProperly, a variant of the defective imperfect yode, but sometimes mistaken for a present. See the Note under Yede. [Obs.] Years yead away and faces fair deflower. Drant.
• yeahnot only so, but
• yeanTo bring forth young, as a goat or a sheep; to ean. Shak.
• yeanlingA lamb or a kid; an eanling. Shak.
• yeara body of students who graduate together
• year dotas long ago as anyone can remember
• year of graceany year of the Christian era
• year-aroundoperating or continuing throughout the year
• year-endtaking place at the close of a fiscal year
• year-roundoperating or continuing throughout the year
• yearaThe California poison oak (Rhus diversiloba). See under Poison, a.
• yearbooka reference book that is published regularly once every year
• yearedContaining years; having existed or continued many years; aged. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
• yearlingan animal in its second year
• yearlonglasting through a year
• yearlyoccurring or payable every year
• yearnhave affection for; feel tenderness for
• yearned-forgreatly desired
• yearnera person with a strong desire for something
• yearnfulDesirous. [Obs.] Ormulum. P. Fletcher.
• yearningprolonged unfulfilled desire or need
• yearninglyin a yearning manner
• yearningsThe maws, or stomachs, of young calves, used a rennet for curdling milk. [Scot.] YEAR'S PURCHASE Year's purchase. The amount that is yielded by the annual income of property; -- used in expressing the value of a thing in the number of years required for its income to yield its purchase price, in reckoning the amount to be paid for annuities, etc.