Y

Y is the twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

See V. In Greek Υψιλον (Ypsilon) was pronounced /u/ (later on /y/, now /i/; see English MYTH and GIFT which both have /I/). The Romans borrowed Y directly from the Greek, because they felt that V no longer adequately represented Greek /y/. The English name of the letter - /waI/ - is of unknown origin. In Spanish, Y is called i griega, in Catalan i grega and in French i grec (all mean "Greek i"); in most other European languages the Greek name is still used. The letter Y was originally established as a vowel. It is now established both as a vowel and as a consonant. On Wheel of Fortune, the letter Y counts as a consonant.

The letter y was used by Caxton and other printers in mediaeval England to represent the thorn.

Yankee represents the letter Y in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Y is also:

• The symbol for yttrium in the periodic table.
• A Swedish film, Y, made in 1987
• A place name, Y in Alaska and Y in France (municipality in the Somme département)
• A modern board game, played on a triangle-shaped board. see Y (game)
• The usual symbol for the variable represented on the vertical axis (ordinate) in analytic geometry
• The dependent variable in mathematical analysis and theoretical statistics
• A case of mathematical combinator; see Y combinator
• The variable Y for admittance, the inverse (1/Z) of impedance
• Generation Y
• YMCA
• Yoshi, a Nintendo character

Two-letter combinations starting with Y:

• ya yb yc yd ye yf yg yh yi yj yk yl ym yn yo yp yq yr ys yt yu yv yw yx yy yz