Y

¹ American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

Or y

noun

PLURAL

Y's, Ys, y's, ys.

1. the 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.

2. any spoken sound represented by the letter Y or y, as in yet, city, or rhythm.

3. something having the shape of a Y .

4. a written or printed representation of the letter Y or y.

5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Y or y.

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-y ² American  

1. a native English suffix of adjectives meaning “characterized by or inclined to” the substance or action of the word or stem to which the suffix is attached: juicy; grouchy; rumbly; dreamy. Sometimes used to mean “allowing, fostering, or bringing about” the specified action: sippy.

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Y ³ American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

abbreviation

1. Informal.  the Y, the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, or YWHA.

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-y ⁴ American  

Also -ie

1. a noun-forming suffix with a variety of functions in contemporary English, added to monosyllabic bases to create words that are almost always informal. Its earliest use, probably still productive, was to form endearing or familiar names or common nouns from personal names, other nouns, and adjectives (Billy; Susie; birdie; doggie; granny; sweetie; tummy ). The hypocoristic feature is absent in recent coinages, however, which are simply informal and sometimes pejorative (boonies; cabby; groupie; hippy; looie; Okie; preemie; preppy; rookie ). Another function of -y2 -ie is the formation from adjectives of nouns that denote exemplary or extreme instances of the quality named by the adjective (baddie; biggie; cheapie; toughie ), sometimes focusing on a restricted, usually unfavorable sense of the adjective (sharpie; sickie; whitey ). A few words in which the informal character of -y2 -ie has been lost are now standard in formal written English (goalie; movie ).

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Y ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. yen.

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-y ⁶ American  

1. a suffix of various origins used in the formation of action nouns from verbs (inquiry ), also found in other abstract nouns.

   carpentry; infamy.

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Y ⁷ American  

Symbol.

1. the 25th in order or in a series.

2. (sometimes lowercase)  the medieval Roman numeral for 150.

3. Electricity.  admittance. Sometimes y

4. Chemistry.  yttrium.

5. Biochemistry.  tyrosine.

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y ⁸ American  

Symbol, Mathematics.

1. an unknown quantity.

2. (in Cartesian coordinates) the y-axis.

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y- ⁹ American  

Also i-

1. a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words (ywis ) and especially in archaic past participles.

   yclad.

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y. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. yard; yards.

2. year; years.

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Y ¹ British  

symbol

1. any unknown, unspecified, or variable factor, number, person, or thing

2. chem yttrium

3. currency

   1. yen

   2. yuan

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y ² British  

/ waɪ /

noun

1. the 25th letter of the modern English alphabet

2. a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually a semivowel, as in yawn, or a vowel, as in symbol or shy

3. 1. something shaped like a Y

   2. ( in combination )

      a Y-cross

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-y ³ British  

suffix

1. (from nouns) characterized by; consisting of; filled with; relating to; resembling

   sunny

   sandy

   smoky

   classy

2. (from verbs) tending to; acting or existing as specified

   leaky

   shiny

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-y ⁴ British  

suffix

1. denoting smallness and expressing affection and familiarity

   a doggy

   a granny

   Jamie

2. a person or thing concerned with or characterized by being

   a groupie

   a fatty

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-y ⁵ British  

suffix

1. (from verbs) indicating the act of doing what is indicated by the verbal element

   inquiry

2. (esp with combining forms of Greek, Latin, or French origin) indicating state, condition, or quality

   geography

   jealousy

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y ⁶ British  

symbol

1. the y- axis or a coordinate measured along the y- axis in a Cartesian coordinate system

2. an algebraic variable

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Y. ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. YMCA or YWCA

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y. ⁸ British  

abbreviation

1. year

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Etymology

Origin of -y²

Old English -ig; cognate with German -ig; compare perhaps Latin -icus, Greek -ikos

Origin of -y⁴

From late Middle English (Scots), originally in names; of uncertain origin; baby and puppy, now felt as having this suffix, may be of different derivation

Origin of -y⁶

Representing Latin -ia, -ium; Greek -ia, -eia, -ion; French -ie; German -ie

Origin of y-⁹

Middle English y-, i- (reduced variant a- ), Old English ge-, prefix with perfective, intensifying, or collective force; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon ge-, gi-, Gothic ga-, German ge-; compare perhaps Latin com- com-

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