| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Y |
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25th letter of the alphabet. It was a Latin importation of the eastern Greek upsilon (see U), which was pronounced like ü; the Romans used it for Greek words. In English y mainly represents the semivowel occurring in words such as yet; the same semivowel is the second member of the diphthongs  ,  ,  , and oi. The modern ignorant use of y in ye for the (as in “Ye Olde Shoppe”) is based on a misreading of an old sign for th. In chemistry Y is the symbol for the element yttrium. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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