Definition of
Y
- (noun, communication) the 25th letter of the Roman alphabet
- (noun, substance) a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
via WordNet, Princeton University
Synonyms of Y
Alternate forms of Y
Hypernyms: alphabetic character, letter, letter of the alphabet, metal, metallic element
Origin of the word Y
- a late-developing letter in Eng. Called ipsilon in Ger., upsilon in Gk., the Eng. name is of obscure origin. The sound at the beginning of yard, yes, yield, etc. is from O.E. words with initial g- as in got and y- as in yet, which were considered the same sound and often transcribed as a character that looks something like 3more
via Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2001 Douglas Harper