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:

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