Y
The Latin alphabet | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd | ||
Ee | Ff | Gg | Hh | Ii | Jj |
Kk | Ll | Mm | Nn | Oo | Pp |
Rr | Ss | Tt | Uu | Vv | |
Ww | Xx | Yy | Zz |
Y is the twenty-fifth (number 25) letter in the English alphabet[1] and a ligature of two letter I's or J's or one I and one J. It is the only letter with two syllables. Y is pronounced "wie", "greek-ieh" or "greek-jay" or simply "greek". It is sometimes considered a vowel. In words like year, yell, and yes, Y is a consonant. In words like cry, fly, and sky, it is a vowel. Sometimes, it takes the form of the digraph Ij, Ii or Jj.
Especially in Afrikaans, Dutch and French, Y also has a kind with a diaeresis above it (Ÿ, ÿ).
Where it came from[change | change source]
Semitic, Phoenician, Greek and Latin[change | change source]
Y has appeared as the Semitic letter "yodh". This was the first time it appeared in an alphabet. I and J also come from the Semitic alphabet. The Greek and Latin alphabets used the Phoenician form of this early alphabet. There are similarities to the old English letter yogh (Ȝȝ). The table shows where Y came from.
Phoenician | Greek | Latin | English (approximate times of changes) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Old | Middle | Now | |||
75x → | I → | 75x/I → | 75x/I/75x | ||
→ | (vowel /y/) → | (vowel /i/) → | (vowels) | ||
C → | |||||
G → | Ȝ → | G → | |||
consonantal /j/ → | (consonant) | ||||
Þ → | /th/ | - |
Meanings for Y[change | change source]
- In chemistry, Y is the symbol for yttrium.
- In Mathematics, y is another unknown variable, used as a second unknown variable ("x" is used as the first unknown variable)
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Y" Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "wy," op. cit.
The Simple English Wiktionary has a definition for: y. |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Y. |