Y

letter of the Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet
Aa Bb Cc Dd
Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp
Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv
Ww Xx Yy Zz

Y, or Ÿ, is the twenty-fifth (number 25) letter in the English alphabet.[1] Its name in English is wy (pronounced /ˈw/).[2]

In words like year, yell, and yes, the Y is a consonant. In words like cry, fly, and sky, the Y is considered a vowel.

Where it came from change

Semitic, Phoenician, Greek and Latin change

 
An early Semitic version of the letter waw.
 
The later Phoenician version of waw.

"Y" has appeared as the Semitic letter "waw". This was the first time it appeared in an alphabet. F, U, V, and W 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 the letter "y" came from.

Where the English letter "Y" came from
Phoenician Greek Latin English (approximate times of changes)
Old Middle Now
      U →  /U/UU →  /U/ 
    (vowel /y/)   (vowel /i/)   (vowels)
    C →
G → Ȝ → G →
consonantal   /j/   (consonant)
Þ →   /th/ -

Meanings for Y change

  • 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

  1. "Y" Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "wy," op. cit.
  2. "Y", Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "wy", op. cit.