| yarrow |
any of a variety of plants native to Eurasia that have feathery, fernlike leaves, bear tight clusters of small white, pink, or yellow flowers, and are sometimes used as medicine. |
| yashmak |
the veil worn by Muslim women in public. |
| yataghan |
a Turkish sword with a double-curved blade and a hilt with a prominent pommel and no guard. |
| yaw |
to weave, move unsteadily, turn, or pitch from side to side, esp. on a vertical axis. [4 definitions] |
| yawl |
a two-masted sailing ship having a large mainmast on the foredeck and a smaller mizzenmast behind the rudderpost. (Cf. ketch.) [2 definitions] |
| yawn |
to open the mouth involuntarily while breathing in deeply, usu. as a sign of tiredness, boredom, or the like. [4 definitions] |
| yawp |
(informal) to utter a loud sharp cry; yelp. [2 definitions] |
| yaws |
(used with a sing. verb) a tropical disease caused by a spirochete and characterized by the eruption of red, berrylike growths on the skin. |
| y-axis |
in a two-dimensional coordinate system, the vertical axis along which the y ordinates are measured. [2 definitions] |
| yay1 |
(informal) used as an expression of celebration in connection with a certain result. |
| yay2 |
(informal) to this extent (used along with a gesture or other visual sign to indicate extent). |
| Yb |
symbol of the chemical element ytterbium. |
| Y chromosome |
a sex chromosome that occurs only in males, paired with an X chromosome, and is responsible for male sex characteristics. (Cf. X chromosome.) |
| yd. |
abbreviation of "yard," a unit of length equal to three feet or 0.9144 meter. |
| ye1 |
an archaic form of "you." |
| ye2 |
the. Ye is a misreading of an old spelling of "the" in which the letter for the "th" sound looked like a "y." When stores today put "ye" on their signs, they do so in order to look old-fashioned. |
| yea |
yes (used orally to indicate formal affirmation or agreement). [5 definitions] |
| yeah |
(informal) yes. |
| yean |
of a sheep or goat, to bear young. |
| yeanling |
the young offspring of a sheep or goat; lamb or kid. |
| year |
a unit of time equal to 365 days or, every fourth year, 366 days, reckoned in the Gregorian calendar from January through December; twelve months. (abbr.: yr.) [5 definitions] |