Xystroplites (zistroplitez)

[NL. (Jordan MSS., Cope, 1877), Xyris ( Xyrid- ) + -ex.] rid- ) + -ex.] An order of monocotyledonous plants, of the series Coronarieæ. It is characterized by slightly irregular bisexual flowers, ses [NL.] A generic name variously applied to certain hymenopterous, coleopterous, and lepidopterous insects. 1. The twenty-fifth letter y-. See i-1. For Middle English words with this in the English alphabet. It has both a vowel and a con so- nant value. The character (as was pointed out under U ) is the finally established Greek form of the sign added by the Greeks next after T (which had been the last Phenic i an letter) to expre the 00 (0)-sound; Uand are other forms of it, which have kept more nearly their original place and value. As a Greek vowel, Y underwent a phonetic change which made of it the equiv- alent of the present French u , German ü , a rounded i, or a blending of the iand u -sounds; and in the first century B. C. it was added by the Romans to their alphabet (which had till then ended with 2 ) to expre this sound in the -y2. [Also -ie (rarely -ee ); -ie (rare); a dim. suffix, prob. due to a merging of the familiar adj. suffix-y1, -iel , with the orig. fem. the D. dim. suffix -je , which is short for -jen , a later var. of -ken (see -kin).] A diminutive animals, etc., as kitty , doggy, piggy , birdy , froggy , mousy , and similar names, or familiar minutive of Kate ), Jenny, Hetty , Fanny , Willy , Johnny, Tommy, etc., such names being often spelled with -ie, as Willie , Davie , etc., a spelling common in Scotch use, and also in general use in names of girls, as Katie , Jennie, Hettie, Carrie, Lizzie , Nellie, Annie , etc. Such names coincide in terminal form with some feminine names not actually diminutive, as Mary , Lucy , Lily , formerly and sometimes still written Marie , Lucie, Lillie , etc. The diminutive ter min at i on is not used, except as above, in English literary speech, but it is common non in Scotch, as in beastie , mannie , la ie , sometimes with a second diminutive suffix, as in las- siekie , etc. y3. [Early mod. E. also -ye, -ie ; -ia , in some words of Gr. origin -ia = Pg. It. -ia , -ia = Gr. -ía , a common term. of fem. abstract (and concrete) nouns, as in L. familia , family, mania ( μανία ), madne , etc. See def. Cf. -cy, -ency, -ce, -ence, etc.] A termination of nouns from the Latin or Greek, or of modern formation on the Latin or Greek model. Such nouns are or were originally abstract, but many are now concrete. Examples are family , innocency, homily , theory , geography , philoso- phy , philology , etc.; the list is innumerable. Besides words from the Latin and Greek, many other words have the ter- min at i on -y, either after the analogy of the Latin and Greek termination, or from some other source. As the ter min at i on in such cases usually has no significance, and is therefore not used as formative within the meaning as- signed to that word, such words, which are very numerous and intractable to cla ification, are here ignored. commands a yacht; also, one who sails in a yacht; a yachtsman. yachting (yot'ing), n. [Verbal n. of yacht , r.] art of navigating a yacht; the sport of sailing or traveling in a yacht. Also used at- tributively: as, a yachting voyage; a yachting suit. yachtsman (yots'man), n.; pl. yachtsmen (-men). One who keeps or sails a yacht. IMG:content-2660.png:[blocks in formation] yaft. A Middle English form of gare , preterit yaff (yaf), v . i . [Imitative; cf. yap1 and waff2 .] To bark like an angry dog; yelp; hence, to talk pertly. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] This said, up came a yaffing cur. A. Scott , The Hare's Complaint. ( Jamie son .) yaffil (yaf'il), n. Same as yafflel. yaffingale (yaf'ing-gal), n. [Appar. altered from yafflel , with term. conformed to that of nightingale.] Same as yafflel . Also yapping ale . [Prov. Eng.] I am woodman of the woods, And hear the garnet-headed yafingale Mock them. jagt , a yacht, lit. a chase, hunting (= OHG. jagot , MHG. jag at , G. jagd , chase, hunting), jagen = OHG. jag on, MHG. G. jagen , hunt.] sometimes of large size, used for pleasure-trips or for racing, or as a ve el of state to convey persons of distinction by water. There are two distinct types of sailing yacht: the racer with large spars and sails and fine lines, but sacrificing comfort to speed; and the commodious well-proportioned cruising-yacht. Sailing yachts are seldom or never of a more elaborate rig than that of the schooner; but steam-ve els of every cla from launches up are common as yachts. lating flight afford equally good means of recognition. Encyc. Brit ., XXIV. 661. yaffle2 (yaf'l), n. [Also yafful ; origin obscure.] 1. An armful. [Prov. Eng.]-2. A pile of cod- fish to be carried from the flakes to the store- house. [Local, Ma achusetts.] yaffle2 (yaf'l), v. i.; pret. and pp. yaffled , ppr. yaffling . [ yaffling ." [Prov- incetown, Ma achusetts.] yaffler (yaf'ler), n. Same as yafflel . [Prov. Eng.] yager (ya'ger), n. [ jäger (= D. jager ), & huntsman, jagen , hunt: see yacht . Cf. jäger .] 1. Formerly, a member of various bodies of light infantry in the armies of different German IMG:content-2661.png:[blocks in formation] ranges. The relationships of the yak in are with the rupicaprine and nemorhedine antelopes, as the European chamois, the Asiatic gorals, and the American Rocky yakopu (yak'ō-pö), n. A weapon like the kut- tar, used by the people of Java and Sumatra. yaksha (yak'shä), n. [Skt.] In Hindu myth ., one of a cla of demigods who attend Kuvera, the god of riches, and guard his treasures. Yakut (ya-köt'), n. A member of a people of Turkish or mixed Turkish origin, dwelling in Siberia in the neighborhood of the Lena. yaldı (yäld), a . Same as yeld1 . yald2, yauld (yâld), a. [Prob. var. of * yeld , gildr Sw. Dan. gild , stout, brawny, of full size.] Supple; active; athletic. [Scotch.] Yak (Polphagus grunniens). Bein' yald and stout, he wheel it about, And kluve his heid in twaine. Hogg , Mountain Bard, p. 43. (Jamie son.) See lock1 . low. George Eliot , Silas Marner, xi. yam (yam), n. [= F. igname , inhame , yam. The name , iñame , name = Pg. inhame (NL. inhame ), Malay name is ubi , Javanese uwi , E. Ind. oebis (Müller (Müller), whence G. öbis -wurzel, yam.] 1. A tuberous root of a plant of the genus Diosco- rea , particularly if belonging to one of numer- ous species cultivated for their esculent roots; also, such a plant itself. The plant is commonly a slender twining high-climbing vine, in some species prickly; the root is fleshy, often very large, sometimes a shapele ma , sometimes long and cylindraceous, vary ing in color from white through purple to nearly black. The yam is propagated by cuttings from the root, or also in some species by axillary bulblets. The root contains a large amount of starch, sometimes 25 per cent., is hence highly nutritious, and in tropical lands largely takes the place of the potato of temperate climates. It lacks, how ever, the dry mealine of the potato, and is on the whole rather coarse, and not as a rule highly esteemed by people of European races. It is cooked by baking or boiling, and is in the West Indies sometimes converted into a meal used for making cakes and puddings. D. sativa is an ordinary species (the hoi of the Hawaii ans) with unarmed stem and an acrid root which requires soaking before boiling; it is a profitable source of starch. D. alata , the red or white yam, the uvi of the Fiji Islands, has a winged, not prickly stem, supported in culture by reeds; its tubers attain some- times a length of 8 feet and a weight of 100 pounds. D. acu- Fijis, has prickly stems not requiring support. D. Batatas , the Chinese or Japanese yam, is hardy in temperate climates, and excited considerable interest in Europe and Amer- ica, at the time of the potato-rot, as a po i- ble substitute for that crop. The tuber is pure-white within, of a flaky consistency, and of a taste agree- able to many. It grows 3 feet deep, however, enlarging somewhat toward the bottom, hence is very difficult to gather. D. sativa also is hardy in the southern United States, but the true yam is there little cultivated. (See def. 2.) These species present many varieties, and various other species are more or le cultivated. Branch of Female Plant of Yam (Dioscorea alata ). IMG:content-2662.jpg:[graphic] De yam will grow, de cotton blow, We'll hab de rice an' corn. 3. Any plant of the order Dioscoreaceæ . Lind- ley. Chinese yam. See def. 1. - Common or culti- vated yam, Dioscorea sativa . - Japanese yam, See def. 1, and cut under Dioscorea . Kawai yam. See def. 1.— Ooyala yam, Dioscorea to mentos a , of the East Indies. - Port Moniz yam, See Tamus . - Red yam. See def. 1. -Tivoli yam, Dioscorea nummular i a , of India and the Malayan and Pacific islands. - Uvi yam. See def. 1.- White yam. See def. 1.-Wild yam, any native species of yam. Specifically - (a) The wild yam-root, Dioscorea villosa, of North America, a delicate and pretty twining vine, extending north to Canada. The root is esteemed by eclectics a cure for bilious colic, and is used by the south ern negroes against rheumatism: hence called colic - root and rheumatism -root. (b) See Rajania . - Winged yam, Dioscorea alata . - Yam family, the plant-order Diosco- Yama (yam'ä), n. [Skt. Yama , prob. lit. 'the twin.'] In early Hindu myth ., the first mortal, son of the sun ( Vivasvant ) and progenitor of the human race, who went first to the other world, yang (yang), v . v . i. [Imitative.] To cry as the wild goose; honk. yang (yang), n . [ IMG:content-2663.png:[blocks in formation] most to carry conviction of itself. J. F. Cooper, Oak Openings, p. 28. Yankee, in the American use, does not mean a citizen of the United States as opposed to a foreigner, but a citizen of the Northern New England States (Ma achusetts, Connecticut, .), opposed to a Virgin i an, a Kentuckian, . jagen = G. jagen , hunt: see yacht. The Sw. Dan. that are purely our own; but it is so very plausible as al- sense 'hunt' appears to be due to G., and the word does not seem to be old in Scand., or to exist in AS., etc. Yank has prob. been confused in part, as to meaning, with yark , yerk ; and the whole series to which it belongs is dialectal, and without early record.] I. in trans. 1. Το be in active motion; move or work quickly; bustle. Imp . Dict .-2. To talk fast or con- stantly; scold; nag. Imp . Dict . II. trans. To move, carry, bring, take, etc., with a sudden jerk or jerking motion: usually with along , over , or out : as, to yank a fish out of the water. [Colloq.] I don't see the fun of being yanked all over the United States in the middle of August. C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 201. When the butt of a room goes on the drink, or takes to moping by himself, measures are nece ary to yank him out of himself. R. Kipling , Only a Subaltern. I gue th' best thing we can do is t' yank our traps out of that cave an' get started again. T. A. Janvier, Aztec Treasure-house, x. yank1 (yangk), n. [ yank1 , v.] 1. A quick, sharp stroke; a buffet. [Scotch.] I took up my neive an' gae him a yank on the haff at tell I gart his bit bra cap rattle against the wa'. Hogg, Brownie of Bodsbeck, xiv. 2. A jerk or twitch. [Colloq., U. S.]-3. pl. Leggings or long gaiters worn in England by agricultural laborers. Hall i well. Yank2 (yangk), n. [An abbr. of Yankee.] Yankee. [Colloq. or vulgar.] A IMG:content-2664.png:[blocks in formation] [The word acquired during the war of the rebellion wide currency as a nickname or contemptuous epithet among the Confederates for a Union soldier, the Confederates themselves being in like spirit dubbed Johnnies or Rebs by the Union soldiers.]