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-y 1 or -ey
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suff.
1. Characterized by; consisting of: clayey.
2.
a. Like: summery.
b. To some degree; somewhat; rather: chilly.
3. Tending toward; inclined toward: sleepy.

[Middle English, from Old English -ig.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Y 1 (wī)
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n.
1. The Young Men's Christian Association, The Young Women's Christian Association, or one of their facilities. Used with the.
2. The Young Men's Hebrew Association, The Young Women's Hebrew Association, or one of their facilities. Used with the.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
y 1 or Y (wī)
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n. pl. y's or Y's also ys or Ys
1. The 25th letter of the modern English alphabet.
2. Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter y.
3. The 25th in a series.
4. Something shaped like the letter Y.
(click for a larger image)
type, Woodblock letters
In woodblock printing, ink is applied to blocks of wood in which letters have been carved in relief.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
-y 2
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suff.
1. Condition; state; quality: jealousy.
2.
a. Activity: cookery.
b. Instance of a specified action: entreaty.
3.
a. Place for an activity: cannery.
b. Result or product of an activity: laundry.
4. Collection; body; group: soldiery.

[Middle English -ie, from Old French, from Latin -ia. Sense 2b, ultimately from Latin -ium.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Y 2
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1. The symbol for yttrium.
2. The symbol for admittance.
3. The symbol for hypercharge.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
y 2
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The symbol for ordinate.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Y 3
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abbr.
1. Y chromosome
2. year

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
-y 3 or -ie
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suff.
1. Small one: doggy.
2. Dear one: sweetie.
3. One having to do with or characterized by: townie.

[Middle English -ie, -y.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.